Harold
A surname from the old Scandinavian personal name Harold, famously borne by kings of Norway, Denmark, and England.
The #5,651 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 50,276 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Harold comes from the old personal name Harold, more properly Harald in Scandinavian use. The name is usually explained from Germanic elements meaning roughly “army” and “ruler” or “power,” so the original sense is along the lines of “army leader.” As a surname, it is typically patronymic: it began as a way of identifying someone as the son or descendant of a man named Harold.
History
The name was well known in medieval Britain because of Scandinavian and Anglo-Saxon royal connections, especially King Harold II of England and earlier Norse rulers. As a family name it appears mainly as a surname derived from the personal name rather than as a place-name or occupation. Historical spellings include Harrold and Harrod.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The surname shares its roots with the royal name Harald, still common in modern Norway.
From the historical record
“Beauharnois, or " fair harness." HAROLD. The well-known Scandina- vian personal name, borne by Norwegian, Danish, and English kings. HARPER. A performer on the harp. HARPHAM. A parish in Yorkshire. HARPUR. The family is traced to Chesterton, co. Warwick, temp. Henry I. and II. Shirley's Noble and Gentle Men, p. 47.…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom