Harley is a unisex given name. The name is derived from the Old English words ''hara'' meaning hare, and ''leah,'' meaning wood or clearing and meadow in later development of the language. The name Harley means "hare's meadow". Harley first became popular in the year 1880, where it was the 180th most popular masculine given name in the United States, the name first became popular as a feminine given name in 1991, and became the 667th most popular feminine given name during that year.

Academics

* Harley Flanders (1925–2013), an American mathematician *

Harley Rutledge Harley D. Rutledge (January 10, 1926 – June 5, 2006) was a U.S. physics professor, and ufologist. Early life and career In 1966, Rutledge completed his Ph.D. in solid state physics at the University of Missouri. He subsequently took the pos ...

(1926–2006), an American physics professor and ufologist

Artists

* Harley Parker (1915–1992), a Canadian artist, designer, curator, professor and scholar *

Harley Schwadron Harley Schwadron is an American cartoonist whose work appears in newspapers and magazines. His work appears regularly in the ''Wall Street Journal'', ''Barron's Magazine'', ''Forbes'', ''Harvard Business Review'', ''Playboy'', '' National Law Jo ...

, an American cartoonist *

Harley Refsal Harley Refsal is an internationally recognized figure carver, specializing in Scandinavian flat-plane style of woodcarving. Background Carver was born and raised on a farm near Hoffman, Minnesota, which was homesteaded by his Norwegian-immigrant gr ...

, an American artist and woodcarver

Performers

Harley Allen Harley Lee Allen (January 23, 1956March 30, 2011) was an American bluegrass and country singer and songwriter. Early life Allen was born in Dayton, Ohio, the son of bluegrass performer Red Allen. Discography Studio albums Singles Musi ...

(born 1956), an American country singer and songwriter * Harley Alexander-Sule (born 1991), English singer in Rizzle Kicks * Harley Bird (born 2001), English actress and voice actress, best known for providing the voice of Peppa Pig in

Peppa Pig ''Peppa Pig'' is a British preschool animated television series by Astley Baker Davies. The show follows Peppa, an anthropomorphic female piglet, and her family, as well as her peers portrayed as other animals. The show first aired on 31 Ma ...

from 2007 to 2020. * Harley Brinsfield, an American radio personality and host of ''The Harley Show'' *

Harley Cross Harley Cross (born March 10, 1978) is an American entrepreneur, film/television actor and producer. He is currently the Director of Strategy foLand Core a 501(c)3 non-profit that he co-founded in 2018 advancing soil health programs and policie ...

(born 1978), an American film and television actor *

Harley Flanagan Harley Francis Flanagan (born March 8, 1967) is an American musician. He is the founder of New York hardcore band Cro-Mags. At age 12, Flanagan was the drummer for New York punk band the Stimulators. When he was nine years old, Flanagan publish ...

(born 1968), musician and member of the 1980s hardcore punk band Cro-Mags *

Harley Granville-Barker Harley Granville-Barker (25 November 1877 – 31 August 1946) was an English actor, director, playwright, manager, critic, and theorist. After early success as an actor in the plays of George Bernard Shaw, he increasingly turned to directi ...

(1877–1946), an English actor, director, producer, critic and playwright *

Harley Jane Kozak Harley Jane Kozak (born January 28, 1957) is an American actress and author. She made her film debut in the slasher film ''The House on Sorority Row'' (1982), and had a recurring role as Mary Duvall on the soap opera '' Santa Barbara'' between 1 ...

(born 1957), an American actress and author * Harley Edward Streten (born 1991), an Australian DJ known professionally as Flume *

Harley Venton Harley Venton (born December 28, 1952) is an American actor, originally from Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. Biography After graduating from the University of North Dakota and the University of Minnesota, Venton moved to New York City, where he ...

(born 1953), an American actor

Politicians

* Harley Desjarlais, a regional Métis leader in Canada * Harley Frank, a First Nations leader in southern Alberta, Canada * Harley M. Jacklin (1889–1970), an American politician * Harley Martin Kilgore (1893–1956), a United States Senator from West Virginia * Harley Eugene Knox (1899–1956), an American independent politician from California * Harley A. Martin (1880–1951), an American politician *

Harley Orrin Staggers Harley Orrin Staggers Sr. (August 3, 1907 – August 20, 1991) was an American politician who served 16 terms in the United States House of Representatives from 1949 to 1981, representing West Virginia's 2nd Congressional District as a Democrat ...

(1907–1991), a Democratic U.S. politician * Harley O. Staggers, Jr. (born 1951), a U.S. Democratic politician

Sportspeople

Harley Boss Elmer Harley Boss (November 19, 1908 – May 15, 1964) was a Major League Baseball first baseman who played for four seasons. He played for the Washington Senators from 1928 to 1930 and the Cleveland Indians in 1933. He played college baseball ...

(1908–1964), a Major League Baseball first baseman *

Harley Dillinger Harley Hugh Dillinger (October 30, 1894 – January 8, 1959), nicknamed "Hoke", was a Major League Baseball pitcher who played for one season. He played for the Cleveland Naps from August 16, 1914, to October 3, 1914. He went to school at the Univ ...

(1894–1959), an American Major League Baseball pitcher *

Harley Hisner Harley Parnell Hisner (November 6, 1926 – March 20, 2015) was an American starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played in one game for the Boston Red Sox during the 1951 season. Listed at , , he batted and threw right-handed. In ...

(1926–2015), a former starting pitcher in Major League Baseball * Harley the Nightrider, a professional wrestler from

All-Star Wrestling All Star Wrestling (ASW) is a British professional wrestling promotion operated by Brian Dixon and based in Birkenhead, England. Founded as Wrestling Enterprises of Birkenhead in October 1970, it has also been known over the years as All Star P ...

Harley Lewis Harley Lewis (born May 5, 1974) is an American professional wrestler and shoot fighter who competes for independent promotions in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and Japan. He has had successful stints in the United States Wrestling Asso ...

(born 1971), an American professional wrestler *

Harley Marques Silva Harley Marques Silva (born 6 July 1974 in Rio de Janeiro) is a beach volleyball player from Brazil. Team Harley – Pedro, was placed as #5 on the international Olympic ranking for the 2008 Summer Olympics, but did not qualify because of the t ...

(born 1975), a Brazilian beach volleyball champion * Harley McCollum (1916–1984), an American football tackle *

Harley Payne Harley Fenwick Payne (January 8, 1868 – December 29, 1935), was a professional baseball player who played pitcher for the Brooklyn Bridegrooms The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the Americ ...

(1868–1935), a former American professional baseball player *

Harley Sewell Harley Edward Sewell (April 18, 1931 – December 17, 2011) was an American football guard for the Detroit Lions (1953–1962), the Los Angeles Rams (1963). He was born in Jefferson County, Oklahoma, and attended the University of Texas. He ...

(1931–2011), a former American football guard *

Harley Race Harley Leland Race (April 11, 1943 – August 1, 2019) was an American professional wrestler, promoter, and trainer. Race wrestled in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), the American Wrestling Association (AWA), the World Wrestling Federatio ...

(1943–2019), American professional wrestler and promoter *

Harley Windsor Harley Windsor (''né'' Dahlstrom-Windsor; born 22 October 1996) is an Australian pair skater. With his former skating partner, Ekaterina Alexandrovskaya, he is the 2017 Junior World Champion, the 2017 CS Tallinn Trophy champion, the 2017 C ...

(born 1996), Australian ice skater

Others

* Harley H. Christy (1870–1950), a Vice Admiral of the United States Navy *

Harley Earl Harley Jarvis Earl (November 22, 1893 – April 10, 1969) was an American automotive designer and business executive. He was the initial designated head of design at General Motors, later becoming vice president, the first top executive ever ...

(1894–1969), car designer and coachbuilder, the first styling chief at General Motors *

Harley Hotchkiss Harley Norman Hotchkiss, (July 12, 1927 – June 22, 2011) was a Canadian business and community leader who was best known for his contributions to health and sports development in Canada. He was part of the consortium that brought the Atlanta ...

(1927–2011) a Canadian businessman * Harley Pasternak (born 1974), a Canadian personal trainer, public speaker and author *

Harley Peyton Harley Peyton is an American television producer and writer. He worked in both capacities on ''Twin Peaks ''Twin Peaks'' is an American mystery serial drama television series created by Mark Frost and David Lynch. It premiered on ABC on Apr ...

, an American television producer and writer * Harley Oliver Teets (1906–1957), American law enforcement official and warden of San Quentin State Prison

Fictional characters

* Harley Gwen, a character in Marvel Comics' ''Gwenpool'' franchise; see

Harley Quinn Harley Quinn is a character (arts), character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Quinn was created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm as a comic relief henchwoman for the supervillain Joker (character), Joker in ''Batman: The An ...

Harley Hartwell The manga series ''Case Closed'', known as in Japan, features a large number of recurring fictional characters created by Gosho Aoyama. The series takes place in modern-day Japan and follows an amateur detective Jimmy Kudo (Japanese name: Shini ...

, a teenage detective from the

Case Closed ''Case Closed'', also known as , is a Japanese detective manga series written and illustrated by Gosho Aoyama. It has been serialized in Shogakukan's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' since January 1994, with its ch ...

Detective Conan ''Case Closed'', also known as , is a Japanese detective fiction, detective manga series written and illustrated by Gosho Aoyama. It has been serialized in Shogakukan's Shōnen manga, ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' ...

anime * Harley Keener, a character in ''Iron Man 3'' and the Marvel Cinematic Universe * Harley Keiner, a character in the television series ''Boy Meets World'' and ''Girl Meets World'' * Harley Merlin, the title character in the literary series ''Harley Merlin'' *

, a DC Comics character created by

Paul Dini Paul McClaran Dini (; born August 7, 1957) is an American screenwriter and comic creator. He has been a producer and writer for several Warner Bros. Animation/DC Comics animated series, most notably '' Batman: The Animated Series'' (1992–1995) ...

and

Bruce Timm Bruce Walter Timm (born February 5, 1961) is an American artist, animator, writer, and producer. He has contributed to building the modern DC Comics animated franchise, most notably '' Batman: The Animated Series'' (1992–1995) and the subseque ...

, and first appeared in '' Batman: The Animated Series'' in September 1992. * Harley Warren, a character in H. P. Lovecraft's story "The Statement of Randolph Carter" * Harley, a Pokémon anime character * Mr. Harley, a character in

Henry Mackenzie Henry Mackenzie FRSE (August 1745 – 14 January 1831, born and died in Edinburgh) was a Scottish lawyer, novelist and writer sometimes seen as the Addison of the North. While remembered mostly as an author, his main income came from legal role ...

's sentimental novel ''

The Man of Feeling ''The Man of Feeling'' is a sentimental novel published in 1771, written by Scottish author Henry Mackenzie. The novel presents a series of moral vignettes which the naïve protagonist Harley either observes, is told about, or participates in. ...

'' * Harley Diaz, a character in Disney Channel’s

Stuck in the Middle (TV series) ''Stuck in the Middle'' is an American family comedy television series developed by Alison Brown and Linda Videtti Figueiredo and created by Alison Brown that premiered on Disney Channel on February 14, 2016. The series focuses on Jenna Ortega ...

References

* {{Cite encyclopedia , editor-last=Harper , editor-first=Douglas , title=Harley , url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/Harley#etymonline_v_41529 , encyclopedia= Online Etymology Dictionary , access-date=24 December 2019 English given names