How to say it
HAR · vey
/ˈhɑr.vi/
Masculine
Harvey
Battle-worthy
What it means
From the Breton Haerviu, 'battle' plus 'worthy.' A saint's name that became an English surname and then a first name again.
Harvey comes from the old Breton name Haerviu (later Hervé), from haer 'battle' and viu 'worthy' or 'blazing.' St. Hervé, a blind 6th-century Breton musician-monk, kept it alive; Bretons carried it to England after the Norman Conquest, where it became a surname and, eventually, a given name again. It faded mid-20th century and is now well into a British-led vintage revival. Harv is the rare short.
Popularity over time
peaked at #51 in 1880, currently #251 in 2025.
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, names given to at least 5 babies in a year, 1880–present. See where the names are moving
Heads-up notes
- Pop culture
Cultural Harveys run wide: the invisible six-foot rabbit in Harvey (1950), activist Harvey Milk, and Batman's Harvey Dent.
Who's worn it
Historical figures, characters, and public faces who share the name. The cultural surface, for whatever weight you want to give it.
- Harvey Milk American politician and gay-rights pioneer
- Harvey Keitel American actor
- Harvey Dent the DA who becomes Two-Face in Batman
Spelling variants
- Hervé
- Harvie
Names with the same feeling
See Harvey from another angle
By meaning
By style