Harley is a unisex given name. The name is derived from the Old English words hara meaning hare, and leah, meaning wood or clearing and meadow in later development of the language. The name Harley means "hare's meadow".

Harley first became popular in the year 1880, where it was the 180th most popular masculine given name in the United States, the name first became popular as a feminine given name in 1991, and became the 667th most popular feminine given name during that year.^[1]

Academics

• Harley Flanders (1925–2013), an American mathematician
• Harley Rutledge (1926–2006), an American physics professor and ufologist

Artists

• Harley Parker (1915–1992), a Canadian artist, designer, curator, professor and scholar
• Harley Schwadron, an American cartoonist
• Harley Refsal, an American artist and woodcarver

Performers

• Harley Allen (1956–2011), an American country singer and songwriter
• Harley Alexander-Sule (born 1991), English singer in Rizzle Kicks
• Harley Bird (born 2001), English actress and voice actress, best known for providing the voice of Peppa Pig in Peppa Pig from 2007 to 2020.
• Harley Brinsfield, an American radio personality and host of The Harley Show
• Harley Cross (born 1978), an American film and television actor
• Harley Flanagan (born 1968), musician and member of the 1980s hardcore punk band Cro-Mags
• Harley Granville-Barker (1877–1946), an English actor, director, producer, critic and playwright
• Harley Jane Kozak (born 1957), an American actress and author
• Harley Edward Streten (born 1991), an Australian DJ known professionally as Flume
• Harley Venton (born 1953), an American actor
• Harley Roberts (born 2001), an upcoming British voice actor

Politicians

• Harley Desjarlais, a regional Métis leader in Canada
• Harley Frank, a First Nations leader in southern Alberta, Canada
• Harley M. Jacklin (1889–1970), an American politician
• Harley Martin Kilgore (1893–1956), a United States Senator from West Virginia
• Harley Eugene Knox (1899–1956), an American independent politician from California
• Harley A. Martin (1880–1951), an American politician
• Harley Orrin Staggers (1907–1991), a Democratic U.S. politician
• Harley O. Staggers, Jr. (born 1951), a U.S. Democratic politician

Sportspeople

• Harley Boss (1908–1964), a Major League Baseball first baseman
• Harley Dillinger (1894–1959), an American Major League Baseball pitcher
• Harley Hisner (1926–2015), a former starting pitcher in Major League Baseball
• Harley the Nightrider, a professional wrestler from All-Star Wrestling
• Harley Lewis (born 1971), an American professional wrestler
• Harley Marques Silva (born 1975), a Brazilian beach volleyball champion
• Harley McCollum (1916–1984), an American football tackle
• Harley Payne (1868–1935), a former American professional baseball player
• Harley Sewell (1931–2011), a former American football guard
• Harley Race (1943–2019), American professional wrestler and promoter

• Harley Windsor (born 1996), Australian ice skater

Others

• Harley H. Christy (1870–1950), a Vice Admiral of the United States Navy
• Harley Earl (1894–1969), car designer and coachbuilder, the first styling chief at General Motors
• Harley Hotchkiss (1927–2011) a Canadian businessman
• Harley Pasternak (born 1974), a Canadian personal trainer, public speaker and author
• Harley Peyton, an American television producer and writer
• Harley Oliver Teets (1906–1957), American law enforcement official and warden of San Quentin State Prison

Fictional characters

• Harley Gwen, a character in Marvel Comics' Gwenpool franchise; see Harley Quinn
• Harley Hartwell, a teenage detective from the Case Closed/Detective Conan anime
• Harley Keener, a character in Iron Man 3 and the Marvel Cinematic Universe
• Harley Keiner, a character in the television series Boy Meets World and Girl Meets World
• Harley Merlin, the title character in the literary series Harley Merlin
• Harley Quinn, a DC Comics character created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm who first appeared in Batman: The Animated Series in September 1992.
• Harley Warren, a character in H. P. Lovecraft's story "The Statement of Randolph Carter"
• Harley, a Pokémon anime character
• Mr. Harley, a character in Henry Mackenzie's sentimental novel The Man of Feeling
• Harley Diaz, a character in Disney Channel’s Stuck in the Middle (TV series)