Harriet

Attested across 10 languages in the etymology graph.

Names that people choosing a name often weigh against Harriet, most often first. They share a style rather than an origin.

• Florence
• Edith
• Dorothy
• Imogen
• Frances
• Beatrice
• Georgia
• Georgina
• Greta
• Josephine
• Gwendolyn
• Matilda

From the names suggested together in public name-advice forums, in English. A list of what people consider, not a measure of how common any name is.

Harriet is also recorded as 6 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Swahili given name4 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Kenya, United States, Zambia, Uganda

  Languages: Swahili, Southern Sotho

  Also written Harriët

• Spanish given name6 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Brazil, Argentina, United Kingdom

  Languages: Spanish, Portuguese

  Also written Harriët, Hãrriêt

• a separate name4 spellings in the group

  Also written Harrie͏̈t, Härriet, Harriët

• Finnish given name4 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Sweden, Finland, United Kingdom

  Languages: Finnish, Estonian

  Also written Harriët, Härriet

• French given name3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in France, United States, United Kingdom, Gabon

  Also written Harriët, Harrie͏̈t

• Indonesian given name3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Indonesia, United States, United Kingdom, Malaysia

  Languages: Indonesian, Malay

  Also written Harriët

62 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Harriet is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• Anglicized form of French Henriette, a feminine diminutive of Henry (French Henri) coined in the 17th century. It was quite common in

  as a name·A concise dictionary of first names

• In English, A female given name from the Germanic languages.

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In Swedish, Harriet är en engelsk form av franskans Henriette (→ Henrietta). Det kom till Sverige via västsvenska kontakter med Storbritannien. En känd namnbärare är poeten och konstnären Harriet Löwenhjelm (1887–1918). I den rikssvenska almanackan 10 okto ber och i den finlandssvenska 6 januari.

  as a name·Förnamn i Sverige. Kortfattat namnlexikon

• In German, ['haenat]: im 19. Jh. aus dem Englischen übernommener weibl.

  as a name·DUDEN Lexikon der Vornamen

• In German, Harriet Beecher-Stowe, amerikanische Schriftstellerin

  as a name·DUDEN Lexikon der Vornamen

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

• Harriet Martineaub. 1802GBEnglish writer and sociologist (1802–1876)
• Harriet Taylor Millb. 1807GBBritish philosopher (1807–1858)
• Harriet Beecher Stoweb. 1811USAmerican abolitionist and author (1811–1896)
• Harriet Tubmanb. 1821USAfrican-American abolitionist (1822–1913)
• Harriet Laneb. 1830USFirst Lady of the United States from 1857 to 1861
• Irene Worthb. 1916USnot in their usual nameAmerican actress (1916–2002)
• Harriet Anderssonb. 1932SESwedish actress (born 1932)
• Harriet Harmanb. 1950GBBritish politician (born 1950)
• Harriet Walterb. 1950GBBritish actress (born 1950)
• Harriet Sansom Harrisb. 1955USAmerican actress

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

A formal English salutation is built on the surname, so it needs a full name — on its own, a first name only supports the informal form.

Register rows as of the 2026-10-09 data build.

What does the name Harriet mean, and where does it come from?

Teutonic; ruler of the home; feminine form of Harry/Henry Recorded by Baby names, 25,350 baby names nicknames for your family, friends pets, including the top 100 names, 2,000 most popular….

What are other forms of the name Harriet?

In the etymology graph, Ina, Heike and Henrietta are forms of the same name in other languages; Hattie and Hallie are recorded short or pet forms.

In which country does Harriet have the most bearers?

In the United States, the national register counted about 30 thousand people named Harriet, more than in any other country we hold, where it is most often spelled harriet.

Where is Harriet most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Harriet is densest in Sweden — about 1 in 1.4 thousand people — even though United States holds more of our records for it.

Is Harriet a male or female name?

Harriet is used for both men and women, depending on the country. National registers that list names by sex disagree: United States (Census Bureau, 2020): listed as female; Finland (DVV): listed as female; Norway (SSB): listed as female; Spain (INE): listed under both sexes. We don't publish a percentage split.

How do you pronounce Harriet?

A machine transcription gives /hæɹiɛt/ (IPA) for English.

How common is the name Harriet?

In the United States, the national register counted 30,360 people named Harriet in 2020, about 1 in 11 thousand residents.

How common is Harriet compared with other names?

In the United States, Harriet is the 706th most common given name of 2,815,431 given names recorded there.