|
|
FOR
REAL: Harper was originally an English surname denoting someone who played the harp. As a girls' name, it was brought to public attention by the author Harper Lee (born Nelle Harper Lee in 1926) whose most famous work to date was the 1960 novel To Kill a Mockingbird. It's been used sporadically for boys since at least the 1880s, but in recent years, Harper has rocketed to popularity for girls, landing at #36 in the U.S. Top 7000 (it's #16 if you go by the list that doesn't take spelling variations into account). Harper also has the distinction of being the only girls' name in the top 250 with just one spelling! In fact, Harper has never had any other recorded spelling. I'm sure someday we will find little girls named Harpyr, Harperre, or Harrper, but not so far! |
