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I do like it. There is something very cool, posh and alluring about it. But I do think of it as trendy and imagine it will follow that path of most trendy names.... in that it will be dated and likely forever tied to Nicole Ritchie, whether you loved the name before she used it or not

I have three very positive associations with the name Harlow. The first is with Old Hollywood actress Jean Harlow, the original blonde bombshell / platinum blonde. She made it sexy long before Marilyn Monroe. Her roles were always scrappy, (almost annoyingly) blunt working girls. But in real life she was as sweet and opposite to that as can be. Everyone loved her and felt sorry that her domineering mother made her life miserable. And then she died at 26 from renal failure. So sad. I never thought she got enough recognition.

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Secondly, one of my favorite bone china patterns (and I'm a huge china fanatic) is Harlow by Royal Doulton. It looks like a band of Tudor rose motif. It's very un-frilly.

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And finally, I love feminine names ending in an "o" sound like Consuelo, Margot, Isabeau, Meadow, Rosario, etc.

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So I'm predisposed to love, or at least like, Harlow. But I have to balance all of this out with two big negatives: other people's surnames as fns and trendy celebrity names. Occasionally I've been known to look the other way with other people's surnames as fns, but usually it's because they honor someone very distinguished, like authors Flannery O'Connor or Sidonie Colette.

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On balance, I have to say no to Harlow, unless it's a family surname for you. And even then I prefer it in the mn position. Could I interest you in Harmony instead?

This message was edited 2/1/2013, 12:27 PM

I love the sound, but something about the 'w' throws me off. Yet Harlo looks incomplete to me so I don't know what the solution is. All spellings of this name look unattractive to me.

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It's certainly not lame, although it is perhaps a little trendy. It was pretty much unheard of it seems until Nicole Richie named her daughter it, and I think the popularity will decline drastically within the next 15-20 years. Yes, it's likely one of those names.

I can't decide either! I think it is kinda slick and urban and I like the Jean Harlow reference, but somehow it doesn't look as great on its own without a clunkier retro name beside it, and something about it makes me cringe. Maybe it's because I'm desensitized to the novel charm that surname names once held? But there is some kind of allure to it, it reminds me of someting very shiny and rich. Chrome art deco.

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I don't like it, especially not on a girl.

For a girl or a boy? I like it for both to be honest, yeah I find it a bit trendy but not lame and not too much so. It's one of three "Ha-" names I've come to really like lately, the other two being Hadley and Harley. :)

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It's nice, usable and trendy. Definitely not lame. I like it a lot. Trendy does not always equal lame :)

I quite like Harlow, but it is trendy and perhaps a little lame too. Still usable though and miles better than Mikayla or Madison.

This message was edited 2/1/2013, 1:11 AM

Trendy and lame.

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It seems to me that its appeal probably comes almost entirely from Jean Harlow, influenced by trendy Harley. It reminds me more of harlot than Charlotte does.
I'm sort of sad to say that because I think if it were more 'just a surname name' without major bad associations, like Avery, I'd think it was neat-sounding. Sure it's usable ... but it does seem lame and Hollywooden, like Monroe on a girl.

It is trendy, but I also like it and it is usable. Not lame. I wouldn't use it myself though.

I'm in the same boat as you. It's definitely trendy, but at the same time something about it appeals. Not enough that I'd ever use it, though.

I like it, a little more on a boy than a girl but it's pretty equal. I can't say I like it enough to really use but I tend to keep it on my list to play with.

It's trendy and lame, especially on a girl.

Hollywood tryndee and lame.