Hal: Baby Name of the Day

The baby name Hal comes in at just three letters. Could it follow Jack, Max, and Gus into wider use?

Thanks to Kim for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day.

THE MEANING OF HAL

Traditionally, the baby name Hal started out as a short form of Henry, via nickname Harry.

That sounds like a stretch, but remember Henry came to England with the Normans as Henri. (Listen to Henri pronounced in French here and Harry makes a little more sense.)

So the English simplified Henry to Harry. Drop the second syllable, and that leaves Har, which becomes Hal pretty easily.

One other factor: Anglo-Normans also came up with Dick for Richard, Hank for Henry, and Chuck for Charles. They were forever dropping the ‘r’ sound.

Later, the baby name Hal became associated with Harold, and works every bit as well as a nickname for that traditional choice, too.

The Germanic Henry means home ruler, while the Old English and Norse Harold means powerful army. Either way, it’s a commanding choice.

PRINCE HAL

Some surprising nickname/formal name connections are lost to time.

Thank William Shakespeare for preserving the connection between the baby name Hal and formal name Henry.

The most famous Henry-called-Hal appears in the history books as King Henry V of England. In Shakespeare’s King Henry IV, Part 1 and Part 2, the prince is referred to by his nickname.

Maybe Shakespeare resorted to the nickname because there were lots of Henrys in his story, including father as well as son. It’s unclear whether the prince would have used the nickname in real life.

Actor Tom Hiddleston, best known as Loki in The Avengers, played the prince in The Hollow Crown. A series of Shakespeare’s plays adapted for television by the BBC, Crown also co-starred many a famous British actor – including Benedict Cumberbatch.

Prince Hal is generally understood to refer to Shakespeare’s take on the historical figure.

HAL in SPACE

The baby name Hal features in Arthur C. Clarke’s 1968 novel 2001: A Space Odyessey.

It’s the name of the computer, short for Heuristically programmed ALgorithmic Computer.

The Stanley Kubrick movie debuted later in 1968, a collaboration between Kubrick and Clark.

While the computer steals the show, it’s the bad guy in the piece. But in our age of AI, HAL seems almost ordinary.

FAMOUS HALS

Plenty of other famous figures answer to the names. There’s comedian Hal Sparks. In Malcolm in the Middle, it’s the dad’s first name, too. David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest also gives the name to a brilliant, but tragic, character.

One of the most famous superheroes to wear the Green Lantern’s secret identity was Harold “Hal” Jordan.

The list is long: athletes like Hal Greer and Hal McRae and actor Hal Holbrook also come to mind.

Few of them were born Hal. Holbrook, Greer, and McRae all started out as Harold; Sparks was born Harry III.

Mercifully, Jack Black’s 2001 movie Shallow Hal is fading from our collective memory.

HOW POPULAR IS THE NAME HAL?

Hal’s nickname status means it’s hard to uncover the true popularity of the baby name Hal.

Henry ranks in the US Top Ten, while Harold teeters on the edge of the current Top 1000. Other formal names, like Halston and Hallam, are possible – but rarer still.

As an independent name, Hal hasn’t ranked since 1975, and is equally obscure elsewhere in the English-speaking world.

Just 41 boys received the baby name Hal in 2023. That’s a small number, but it is the biggest since the late 1980s.

Actor Hank Azaria – born Henry – named his son Hal in 2009. Benedict Cumberbatch is dad to Kit, Hal, and Finn.

Jenna Bush Hager named her son Henry Harold Hager, shortening it to Hal. Which is sort of like using the same name three times, but it works.

RETRO REVIVAL CANDIDATE

The baby name Hal might mark a great opportunity for a retro revival name.

After all, we love Max and Jack. Names like Finn and Kai feel more current, but equally brisk and brief.

Hal is more like Gus. It’s a name that sounds right embroidered on a jumpsuit or work shirt name tag. But it’s also surprisingly preppy and polished, the skipper of the yacht that wins the America’s Cup.

That versatility helped drive Jack to the top of the popularity charts. It could work for Hal, too.

And if you’re frustrated that your Henry is one of three in his kindergarten class? Hal is a stand-out nickname possibility.

What do you think of the baby name Hal?

 First published on April 12, 2017, this post was revised on August 13, 2024.