The Harlan surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 11,339 people carried this name — #3,188 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 26,000 people counted. That is up 5% from 10,775 in 2000.

Look up another surname

Share

What the name means

The meaning of the Harlan surname

American contraction of Harland, from Old English har (“grey”) / hara (“hare”) + land (“land”).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Harlan» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In print

Harlan in American newspapers,
1912.

Newspaper page from East Mississippi Times carrying the name Harlan
East Mississippi Times 1912-03-08
Newspaper page from East Mississippi Times carrying the name Harlan
East Mississippi Times 1912-03-15
Newspaper page from East Mississippi Times carrying the name Harlan
East Mississippi Times 1912-03-01

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 324,817 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Harlan in Australian newspapers,
1850s–1990s.

1,285 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Harlan. The most, 333, date from the 1920s. Queensland has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in the Australian Capital Territory, at 1.8 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Queensland 424
Victoria 272
New South Wales 246
South Australia 192
Western Australia 67
Tasmania 48
ACT (Canberra) 25
Northern Territory 1

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Harlan.

Who carried it

People named Harlan,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Richard Harlan
    Richard Harlan 1796–1843 · naturalist
  • Josiah Harlan
    Josiah Harlan 1799–1871 · military personnel
  • James Harlan
    James Harlan 1800–1863 · lawyer
  • Aaron Harlan
    Aaron Harlan 1802–1868 · lawyer
  • Andrew J. Harlan
    Andrew J. Harlan 1815–1907 · lawyer
  • Silas Harlan 1753–1782

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Harlan,
in the records of 4 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States792 records

792 records of the Harlan name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 418
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 204
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 81
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 24
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 23
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 19
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 16
  • Sacramento County historic burials 3
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 2
  • Riverside Cemetery, Asheville (North Carolina) 1
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record John E. Harlan

    Born 1909 in Indiana. Enlisted 1942 at Fort Benjamin Harrison; salesperson from Vigo County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1996, buried at Fort Custer National Cemetery, Michigan.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Richard Elliott Harlan

    Born 1946; from Dallas, Texas. U.S. Army, field artillery unit commander; died in an accident 1971 in Bien Hoa, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Bridget Harlan

    Arrived at New York in 1858 aboard the James Foster Jr. from Liverpool, aged 23; servant. From Ireland.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 792 records for Harlan in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Canada7 records

7 records of the Harlan name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 5
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 2
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Sidney Ernest B. Harlan

    Died 1954 in Sandy Point, Shelburne, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Jessie McGuire Harlan

    Died 1976; buried at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

    City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Peninah Harlan

    Married 1868 in Queens, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Showing 3 of 7 records for Harlan in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Australia6 records

6 records of the Harlan name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 4
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 1
  • Tasmanian Names Index 1
  1. The first page of an emigration file from Gündlingen, Baden, 1883
    Example: German emigration file, 1883
    Emigration record John Harlan

    Left Launceston in 1849 aboard the Halcyon, bound for Adelaide, as a seaman.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Jas Harlan

    Sailed from Victoria in 1855 aboard the Telegraph I, bound for Sydney, aged 46.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record John Harlan

    Will registered in Queensland in 1920.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 6 records for Harlan in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Emigration file, Gündlingen, 1883, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Freiburg B 694/1 Nr. 1389 (CC BY 4.0); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Germany2 records

2 records of the Harlan name in Germany Germany's First World War casualty lists, 1914–1919
  1. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Wilhelm Harlan

    From Blankenloch, Karlsruhe. Reported wounded in the Prussian casualty list of 19 September 1916 (Infantry Regiment No. 69).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)
  2. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Herbert Harlan

    From Dresden. Reported dead in the Prussian casualty list of 1 April 1915.

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)

Counts: Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Deutsche Verlustlisten, Prussian list 1116, 18 April 1918 (scan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Harlan.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Harlan is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See the Harlan volume
Scroll to Top