Harlow
A surname most often taken from Harlow in Essex, meaning someone who came from that place.
The #3,060 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 26,330 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Harlow is generally a habitational surname, formed from the place name Harlow in Essex. The name is usually explained from Old English elements meaning something like 'army hill' or 'hill used by an army,' though old scholars sometimes gave slightly different analyses of the second element. In surname use, it would originally have identified a person who came from Harlow.
History
The surname appears in medieval records in forms such as de Herlawe and de Heilawe, showing the usual 'of Harlow' pattern for place-based surnames. It spread beyond Essex into other parts of England and later to North America, where it remains established but not especially common. Some historical references also link the name with families in Lancashire or with other local spellings, but Essex is the main source.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same surname can turn up in several old spellings because medieval scribes wrote place-names phonetically long before spelling became fixed.
From the historical record
“Harlot; V. Arlett- Earlow.— Local, 'of Harlow," a parish in co. Essex, twenty-three miles from London. Richard de Heilawe, CO. Enn, 1 JJJ. A.”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances