HARLOW
Harlow is a surname of English origin, traditionally classified as a locational name derived from places in the British Isles that bore the element hlaw, meaning “hill.” It is frequently traced back to the town of Harlow in Essex, where the name appears in contemporary records as Herlawe by 1043 and later as Hirlawe in the 1242 fine court rolls of Northumberland.
The earliest documentary evidence of the surname is found in the Feudal Documents of Bury St. Edmunds, where a figure named Osbern de Herlaye is mentioned in a deed dated to about 1121. Subsequent entries in the 1273 Hundred Rolls of Essex record a Richard de Herlawe, and the name is further attested in the 1327 Subsidy Rolls of Yorkshire by a Walter de Harlow. By the early seventeenth century, individuals bearing the name had migrated beyond England; for example, Anthony Harlow appears on a list of residents in Virginia on 16 February 1623, indicating the surname’s early presence in the New World.
The meaning of the name varies according to different linguistic analyses. One common interpretation combines the Old English words hara (“hare”) and hlaw to denote a hill frequented by hares. An alternative derivation replaces hara with the pre‑7th‑century Old English hoer (“rock” or “pile of stones”) to give “rock hill.” Yet another account proposes that the first element is here (“army” or “host”), resulting in the sense “army hill” or “the mound of the people,” which aligns with the historical reference to a possible ancient meeting place of the hundred.
Variations of the surname that appear in medieval documents include Harlowe, Harloe, Arlow, and occasionally Harle. These spelling differences reflect the limited literacy of the period and the phonetic spelling practices of the time.
In England the surname remains most frequent in the region of Essex, its place of origin, but it can be found throughout the country, including Yorkshire and Northumberland where earlier place‑based explanations apply. In modern times, the name has spread beyond Britain to English‑speaking countries such as the United States and Canada, driven by migration and the subsequent generation of surname use. Although it does not rank within the top one thousand names in either the United Kingdom or the United States, it retains a recognisable place in the public consciousness largely because of the Hollywood icon Jean Harlow.
As with many English surnames derived from place names, Harlow reflects both geographical association and the social practice of adopting a surname that identified an individual’s origin or residence. The name’s endurance over nine centuries attests to the lasting importance of locality in the construction of personal identity within English society.
Typical given names associated with the Harlow surname
Male
- Andrew
- Christopher
- David
- James
- John
- Michael
- Paul
- Peter
- Robert
- Stephen
Female
- Caroline
- Elizabeth
- Emma
- Jennifer
- Lisa
- Mary
- Nicola
- Patricia
- Samantha
- Sarah
- Susan
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Harlow in...
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There are approximately 2,831 people named Harlow in the UK. That makes it roughly the 3,155th most common surname in Britain. Around 43 in a million people in Britain are named Harlow.
Surname type: Location or geographical feature
Origin: English
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: England
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: English
Famous people named Harlow
- Jean Harlow - American film actress (1911 to 1937)
- John Harlow - Film director (1896 to 1977)
- Greg Harlow - Bowls player
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.