Contribute your knowledge to the name Harriet

Comments and insights on the name Harriet

I am called Harriet, and I quite like it. It does sometimes annoy me that people spell it wrong a lot. It is handy when you are in a public place and people call my name and it's nearly always you because I have only ever met about 4 people who have the same name as me.

Harriet has a great range of nicknames. There are sweet childish names, like Hats and Ettie.
There are nicknamed for slightly older people, like Etta, Harry and the traditional Hattie.

Harriet on its own is a professional sounding name, although it's difficult to spell, especially for young children.

Personal experiences with the name Harriet

I absolutely love my name! I wouldn't want to be called anything different. Most of my friends call me Hattie but my parents still call me Harriet. It is wonderful. It sounds wonderful. It looks wonderful. I am named after my great-grandmother and Harriet Beecher Stowe (my mum's 'top lady').

Sometimes my name is spelled wrote (two Ts, one R, an O) but it's still the most fab name. And I'm always the only one. My name is not common in England!

I have the most adorable cousin called Harriet. The name really suits her. She has no nickname which I think is good because I can't think of any nickname that would fit her better than Harriet!

Nicknames for Harriet

Addy
Etta
Ettie / Etty
Rhett
Harri / Harry / Harrie
Hari-Bo
Harryo
Has / Haz
Hat-Mat
Hattie / Hatty
Hetty / Hettie
Ria
Tee
Tia

Meanings and history of the name Harriet

Feminine form of Henry, from German, meaning "home ruler".

Famous real-life people named Harriet

Harriet Andersson, Swedish actress
Harriet Arbuthnot (1793–1834), English diarist, social observer, and political hostess
Harriet Backer, Norwegian painter
Harriet Beecher Stowe, abolitionist and writer
Harriet Bland, Olympic gold medal-winning sprinter
Harriet Bosse, actress
Harriet Boyd-Hawes, American archaeologist
Harriet Brooks, nuclear physicist
Harriet Chalmers Adams, American writer, explorer and photographer
Harriet Elphinstone-Dick, early English-Australian swimming champion
Harriet Harman, UK politician and Deputy Leader of the Labour Party
Harriet Howard, mistress of Napoleon III
Harriet Lindeman, politician
Harriet Ann Jacobs, American abolitionist and writer
Harriet B. Jones (1856 - 1943), the first woman to be licensed as a physician in West Virginia
Harriet Keopuolani, Hawaiian queen
Harriet Lane, niece of President James Buchanan and acting First Lady of the United States
Harriet Lerner, feminist and clinical psychologist
Harriet Martineau, English writer, feminist philosopher, and political economist
Harriet Metcalf, Olympic gold medal-winning rower
Harriet Miers, lawyer and politician
Harriet Nahanee, Canadian aboriginal rights activist
Harriet Nahienaena, Hawaiian princess
Harriet Nelson of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
Harriet Owen, actress
Harriet Quimby, pilot; first American female pilot and first woman to fly across the English channel
Harriet Roberts, British dance pop singer
Harriet Anne Scott, English novelist
Harriet Shaw Weaver, journalist and patron of James Joyce
Harriet Smithson, Irish actress and first wife of Berlioz
Harriet Sohmers Zwerling, Beat writer
Harriet Spencer, sister of Georgiana Duchess of Devonshire, one of the leaders of the "ton" in late 1700s England
Harriet Taylor Mill (1807 – 1858), philosopher and women's rights advocate.
Harriet Taylor Upton, suffragette and author
Harriet Tubman, abolitionist, escaped slave and "conductor" on the Underground Railroad
Harriet Wheeler, rock singer
Harriet E. Wilson, the first female African-American novelist

Harriet in song, story & screen

Harriet M. Welsch, heroine of "Harriet the Spy" (classic children's book)
Harriet the Broodal - Super Mario Odyssey (2017)
Harriet Smith, character in Jane Austen's Emma
In the film "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", Harriet Miller was the the name of the groom's mother. Her name was misprinted as "Harry" on the invitations.
Harriet Olson, mother of Nellie on "Little House on the Prairie"
Harriet Hayes, character in fabulous and short lived TV drama "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip"
Harriet, love interest of Mike Myers' character in "So I Married an Axe Murderer"
Harriet Vane, client and eventual wife of Lord Peter Wimsey in the eponymous mysteries by Dorothy Sayers
Harriet Jones, character in British TV series "Dr. Who"
Harriet Schulenberg, lead character in British TV series "Green Wing"
Harriet Vanger, character in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo