Gender: Feminine
Origin: English
(HARE-ee-yet)
The name is essentially a feminine form of Harry, or a 17th-century variation of Henrietta.
The name was quite fashionable throughout the English-speaking world from the beginning of the 18th-century all the way up until the turn of the 20th-century.
The highest Harriet ever ranked in U.S. naming history was in 1880, coming in as the 73rd most popular female name. As of 2010, she does not even appear in the U.S. top 1000.
Harriet was the 86th most popular female name in England/Wales, (2010).
The name has been borne by several famous personages, including, Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896) and Harriet Tubman (1820-1913).
I love this name – said the English way, of course! (Not to sound like HARE at the start). I’m so pleased to see her coming back into fashion here, as Harry falls.
What is the English way? I have only ever heard it pronounced one way.
________________________________
HARR-i-uht – short clipped vowel sounds instead of long ones. (I wish we had the option to upload audio files in our comments!)
See, there is barely a difference to me 🙂
I’m coming to understand that that if you aren’t taught to say a particular sound, you literally can’t hear it. I guess this is why it’s so hard to get an accent right when you learn a new language.