Given name & surname · also English, Breton
Harvey
“one who is ready for battle”·“a strong man”
Harvey is used as a given name and a surname. Interpretations include “one who is ready for battle” and “a strong man”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts.
Original FrenchHervé
Meaning & origin
What it means
Interpretations include “one who is ready for battle” and “a strong man”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts.
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Breton.
How it developed
It entered given-name use through an existing surname.
The story
Its naming history includes the use of a family name as a given name.
Harvey through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 128,792
- 127,925 boys · 867 girls
- Most popular year
- 1921
- 2,294 babies
- 2025
- 1,400
- #251 for boys · #6,196 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +42%
- Rising
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 1,381 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 251 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 41.6% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 2,287 in 1921. It also appeared in 19 birth records for girls in 2025. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (109). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 48,796 as a first name in 2020; 111,716 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.
Harvey’s family of names
In English usage, Harvey has a diminutive in Harv. Harvey shares a linguistic root with Hervé. Harvey has a related form in Herve.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 17
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
People named Harvey
- Harvey KeitelAmerican actorborn 1939
- Harvey MilkAmerican politician and gay rights activist (1930–1978)
- Harvey J. AlterAmerican medical researcherborn 1935
- Phil SpectorAmerican record producer (1939–2021)
- Harvey ElliottEnglish association football player (born 2003)
- Harvey CushingAmerican neurosurgeon (1869-1939)
- Harvey FiersteinAmerican actor and playwrightborn 1952
- Harvey KormanAmerican actor and comedian (1927–2008)
- Harvey BarnesEnglish association football player (born 1997)
Characters named Harvey: Two-Face (villain in the DC Comics universe), Harvey Bullock (DC Comics' Batman titles).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Harvey, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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