Given name & surname
Harun
“a superior man; one who is exalted”
Harun is used as a given name and a surname. One Arabic interpretation is “a superior man; one who is exalted.”
Original Arabicهارون
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Arabic interpretation is “a superior man; one who is exalted.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Arabic.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1967. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Harun through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 1,030
- 1,030 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2022
- 63 babies
- 2025
- 47
- #2,729 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +17%
- Rising
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 47 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 2,729 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 17.4% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. In 2025, New York had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (8). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,159 as a first name in 2020; 400 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Harun’s family of names
In Filipino usage, Harun shares an earlier linguistic root with Aaron. In Turkish usage, Harun has a conventional equivalent in the German form Al. In Turkish usage, Harun has a conventional equivalent in the English form Aaron.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Harun has relatives in 18 languages. Lines run from its Arabic roots to each of them.
Arabicwhere Harun comes from · 1 name
Nicknames & forms 6
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 4
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 15
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Harun
- Harun al-Rashid5th Abbasid caliph (r. 786–809)766–809
- Harun TekinTurkish association football player (born 1989)
- Harun FarockiGerman filmmaker, author, and lecturer in film (1944–2014)
- Harun ibn KhumarawayhTulunid Emir of Egypt from 896 to 904882–905
- Harun OsmanOttoman noble (born 1932)
- Harun ErdenayTurkish basketball player (born 1968)
- Harun DoğanTurkish wrestler (born 1976)
- Harun TekinTurkish musician (born 1977)
- Harun AlpsoyTurkish-Swiss association football player (born 1997)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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