Meanings
Harold1
plural Harolds
- A male given name from Old English or Old Norse.
She called her husband Hal because no one else had ever done so and it had a dashing ring, rather out of keeping with Harold's appearance.
1984, Ruth Rendell, The Killing Doll, Pantheon Books, →ISBN, page 421 more example
For I have heard the Steers / Had land in Saxon times; and your own name / Of Harold sounds so English and so old / I am sure you must be proud of it.
1882, Alfred Tennyson, The Promise of May
Harold2
- A particular format of improvised theatre, in which characters and themes are introduced and then recur in a series of connected scenes.
HAROLD3
- abbreviationacronymuncountablemedicineAcronym of hemispheric asymmetry reduction in older adults.
Origin
Harold · proper noun
- Proto-Germanic*Harjawaldaz
- Old NorseHaraldr
- Old EnglishHarold
- Old EnglishHereweald
- EnglishHarold
From a merger of Old English Hereweald and Old English Harold (itself from Old Norse Haraldr), both from Proto-Germanic *Harjawaldaz, from *harjaz (“army”) + *waldaz (“ruler, authority”). Related to Walter, which has the elements reversed. Cognate with Danish, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish Harald, Faroese and Icelandic Haraldur.
More words from Old English, Old Norse, Proto-Germanic
Full word history & related roots →Harold · proper noun
First performed by The Committee, a San Francisco improv group, in 1967. The name is said to have been jokingly suggested by one of the audience.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bengali হ্যারল্ড
- হ্যারল্ড (haerôlḍ)male given name
Bulgarian Ха́ролд
- Ха́ролд (Hárold)male given name
Chinese Mandarin 哈羅德 /哈罗德
- 哈羅德 /哈罗德male given name
Danish Harald
- Haraldmale given name
French Hérault
- Héraultmale given name
German Harald
- Haraldmale given name
Greek Χάρολντ, Χαρόλδος
- Χάρολντ (Chárolnt)male given name
- Χαρόλδος (Charóldos)male given name
Irish Aralt
- Araltmale given name
Latvian Haralds
- Haraldsmale given name
Norwegian Harald
- Haraldmale given name
Russian Га́рольд, Ха́рольд
- Га́рольд (Gárolʹd)male given name
- Ха́рольд (Xárolʹd)male given name
Spanish Haroldo
- Haroldomale given name
Swedish Harald
- Haraldmale given name
Rhymes & wordplay
Sounds the same
Anagrams
Cite this entry
Harold. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Harold
“Harold.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Harold. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Harold,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Harold.
Source: Harold on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.