This name will always have a special place in my heart because it was my great-great-grandfather's surname. Through him, I am a distant cousin of Supreme Court Justice John Marshall Harlan.
Even though I like it I think of the song "You'll never leave Harlan alive" whenever I hear this name. I like the song though. I recently watched a commentary about Harlan in Kentucky, it's beautiful there but not a great place to live with the crime and poverty. But then again Brooklyn isn't exactly the greatest place in the world and it's a super common name. I don't know if I'd name my child Harlan though, maybe I'd use it as a middle name. But definitely a great name.