Jean Harlow publicity still from 1930; Image via Wikipedia
She’s a 21st century discovery rich with Golden Age Hollywood glamor.
Thanks to Virginia for suggesting Harlow as our Baby Name of the Day.
Harlow started out as a surname, and like many a surname, there is more than one possible origin. The two recurrent explanations are both Old English: from haer – rock, or from
here – army. The second element refers to a hill. Harlow once dotted the map throughout England, so both are probably correct.
Few people think of England. Instead, Harlow conjures up Hollywood, thanks to blonde bombshell Jean Harlow. Born Harlean Harlow Carpenter in Kansas City, Missouri, back in 1911, Harlow was Harlean’s mother’s maiden name.
Jean’s breakout role was in 1930′s war drama Hell’s Angels. As Helen, she declared: “Life’s short. And I wanna live while I’m alive.” For the next seven years, Harlow did just that, making a string of memorable films, six of which paired her with fellow screen legend Clark Gable. She was just 26 when she died of kidney failure in 1937.
In our age of Ava and Audrey, Riley and Madison, it seems a natural evolution to consider the surnames of celebrities. It’s not just Jean Harlow, either. More recently, supermodel Shalom Harlow has been in the spotlight.
In the nineteenth century, Harlow was occasionally worn by men, including:
- Astronomer Harlow Shapley, known for many discoveries, like the dimensions of Milky Way Galaxy;
- Olympic athlete Harlow Rothbert won silver in shot put for the US at the 1932 games in LA;
- GM exec Harlow Curtice was TIME Magazine’s Man of the Year in 1955.
Some will call Harlow a theft from the boys, but the truth is he’s been little used for decades. Harlow last ranked in the US Top 1000 for boys in 1936. That’s just a few dozen newborns, about as many as Foy or Arvil.
Instead, Harlow has something in common with a host of fashionable girls’ names – Nameberry pointed out that Harper, Hadley, Harley, Haven and Harlow all share that same first two letters, as well as their frills-free style. Add in the trend in ends-in-o picks for girls and you almost expect someone to have embraced Harlow before Nicole Richie.
Actually, someone did – make that, two someones:
- Patricia Arquette welcomed a daughter named Harlow Olivia Calliope in 2003;
- Remember Jo from The Facts of Life? Actress Nancy McKeon is mom to two daughters, Aurora and Harlow.
Then came Harlow Winter Kate in 2008, the firstborn of Nicole Richie and Joel Madden. Harlow’s reality star-turned-fashion designer mom has borrowed her daughter’s name for a line, House of Harlow 1960. Dad has recorded “Harlow’s Song” with his band, Good Charlotte. The couple may not have been first, but they’ve been high profile.
Unlike Suri or Apple, this one seems to appeal to parents who may have never watched The Simple Life. Harlow debuted in the Top 1000 at #904 in 2009 and rose to #778 in 2010. She still has a long way to go before she’s the next Madison, but expect to hear more of her. Ask, “oh, like Nicole Richie’s daughter” if you dare, but don’t surprised if the new mom huffs and insists, “No! We thought of it first.”
All I hear/see is harlot and wh*re. Arlo is fine for a boy, but those two extra letters turn this into something very unappealing to me.
Harlow makes for a great name for a tomboy, but you’ve no guarantee you’ll get one.
I know a woman who was teased growing up for her middle name, Harlow. She was called a motorcycle, but she liked it!
Harlow makes me think of Jean and Nicole Ritchie’s baby pretty equally. The name is too much surname for it to conjure up ‘Hollywood glam’ though I see how others could think so. I personally would use a surname from my own family tree before using someone else’s like Harlow.
Also, as huge movie buffs, we would probably use a character name before the name of an actress (Ilsa rather than Ingrid).
I have to completely agree with Panya (surprise!). I only see harlot and think wh**e when I see it as a first name. As a surname it’s innocuous enough. Blech, Harlot, I mean Harlow. And I absolutely adore Arlo, funny that.
I find names starting in Har- incredibly unattractive and heavy, especially on girls. Do not see the appeal whatsoever.
Harlow doesn’t make me think of harlot as much as Charlotte does. I’m glad you pointed out that Patricia Arquette and Nancy McKeon both used the name before Nicole Richie did (if you hadn’t, I would have). My friend has a daughter named Harlow who was born a year before Nicole’s daughter and naturally, everyone thinks she got the idea for the name from her. Harlow is a guilty pleasure name for me. I wouldn’t use it myself, but I love the way it sounds on my friend’s daughter and think it’s a nicer choice than Harper or Harley.
I absolutely adore Hadley. I like Piper and Parker better than Harper. And I do not understand Harley. I still like Haley/Hayley, mostly because I really, really, really wanted an identical twin in England, and I wanted to share my name with a comet. But these days, it is far too common – and confusing!
My dad had cousins named Harlan, Marlowe and Arlo, (they were not siblings,) so to my ear Harlow sounds male.
Honestly, I’ve never seen any of Jean Harlow’s films and I’m not sure I could pick her out from other blonde actresses of the era. For me, since I’m not a fan, It would seem disingenuous to pick a name so tied to a particular Hollywood figure.
She’s not my favorite, either. The one time I heard the name out in the wild, the little girl was definitely born post-Harlow Madden AND her brother was Aidan/Aiden.
@Virginia–Harlow is also a guilty pleasure for me; I enjoy the sound and hearing it on other people’s kids; however, due to the variety of possible problems presented here by others, personally, I would be more likely to use either Marlow or Harrow for a girl.
I’ve been fascinated by the idea of Hallow ever since I saw it in a birth announcement at ForReal – only then I saw Megamind with the kids and it reminds me the tiniest bit of how Will Ferrell’s character botches the word “hello.” Still – also sidesteps the problems!
Just another trendy, celebrity-inspired surname. I find it both boring and ugly (along with all the other Ha- names you mentioned). Plus, I see harlot too.
I don’t see harlot. I like the sound of Harlow…makes me think of Willow and “wind blows.”
I don’t care for Hallow at all due to Halloween (All Hallows Eve)! And doesn’t one of the Harry Potter books have “Deathly Hallows” in the title?
Loved the mention of Foy–my grandfather had a cousin named Foy, probably born around 1905.
I was racking my brain trying to figure out what it was about this name that makes it unappealing to me when I realised it was that ends-in-o sound. Still not a fan (except for Margot). The harlot thing doesn’t really phase me, however, since my own name rhymes with the word.
Sorry for being late! Had a busy week, just checked my email.
Having a niece named Harlow, who just turned two, I immediately thing of a little girl bouncing around and waiting to be tickled. When I first heard the name I thought, “What was my brother thinking?” Now I have gotten used to it, the name doesn’t bother me anymore.
Sorry, but I just think it’s an ugly name. Like Harley, it’s just so heavy and thick for a girl. Completely unattractive.
Love it. Reminds me the of the “cool” era of Hollywood, where the people were genuinely talented and the beauties were genuinely beautiful and not filled with collagen and plastic. It’s got a retro vibe and is one of those names that flow off the tongue rhythmically. I would definitely consider it.
It’s one of the names that divide people – which isn’t a bad thing. That means, that it probably won’t get too popular, but when you know someone with the name, your association changes.
The “harlot” bit doesn’t phase me, as the most common of names have bad rhymes e.g. Luke Puke.
That’s a nice point about dividing lines, Saffa. I find that I often like names but would never, ever use them – and I’d probably have dismissed them a few years ago, pre-AppMtn.
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