Harlem

HAHR-lum

Place-name

"home on a forested dune"

Harlem Origin and Meaning

The name Harlem is a girl's name meaning "home on a forested dune".

With Brooklyn, Trenton, and Camden on the rise, Harlem can't be far behind. It's already been picked by one celebrity, and it certainly has a strong historical and cultural identity -- not to mention its similarity to other popular choices like Harley and Harper.

The Harlem Renaissance saw this New York neighborhood become a center of Black American art and culture, where works from Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston were produced and jazz legends Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington made their mark. Also known for its theaters, soul food, baseball, and R&B, it is an important place within the Civil Rights movement.

Named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands, Harlem, as a name, has its origin in Old Dutch. It's meaning can be translated to "home on a forested dune", owing to the original city's location on a sand dune.

Rapper The Game named his son Harlem back in 2003, and the name has been given to an increasing number of babies ever since. Currently in the Top 1000 for boys, the name is still given to more than 150 girls, meaning just under 40% of all Harlems in 2023 were girls.

Harlem Popularity

• 446 Unique 2023

20 Names Similar to Harlem

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Harlem.

• Lenox
• Mercer
• Cass
• Isham
• Legend
• Harlem
• Brooklyn
• Carmine
• Delancy
• Jacy
• Bryant
• Navarro
• Sheridan
• Houston
• Brooklen
• Rossie
• Gasper
• Taja
• Hartli
• Magic

Harlem in Pop Culture

• Harlem Shake popular dance of the 90s and 2010s