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Harold

A Germanic name meaning "army ruler". Barely over 130 Polish men carry it, so most Poles have never met one, and no newborn got it last year.

Harold Pronunciation

Harold is pronounced KHAH-rolt (/ˈxarɔlt/).

Alive in 2025
133
Newborns 2025
<2
National rank
#2880

What Harold means

Where Harold comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.

Harold comes from Germanic roots. The Old English form was Hereweald, and its Old Norse cousin was Haraldr. Both join a word for army to a word for ruler, which gives the plain meaning: army ruler, or in Polish władca wojska.

One bearer stands above the rest. Harold Godwinson was the last crowned Anglo-Saxon king of England. He fell at the Battle of Hastings in 1066, and an age fell with him. That year fixed the name in English memory.

In a Polish class register, Harold sits among the Antonis and Jakubs as a rare guest. It brings no Polish nickname of its own, so a boy keeps the name whole. Harold stays what it always was, a short claim to command: army ruler.

How many people are named Harold

1 in 160498 men in Poland is named Harold. 133 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #2880 among male names.

People with the name Harold 2019 → 2025
133 +76 since 2019
2020 59 +2
2021 61 +2
2022 69 +8
2023 79 +10
2024 99 +20
2025 133 +34

Harold's popularity over time

Fewer than 2 boys were given the name in 2025. It has been stable for a decade.

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<2 newborns with the name Harold in 2025
below the publication floor that year

Harold as a middle name

Harold is a first name for 133 men in Poland and a middle name for another 52, a 72/28 split. In the men's middle-name ranking it sits 1043rd, between Guillaume (52) and Jamie (52).

As a first name
133
As a middle name
52
first name 72% middle name 28%

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