Harvey

Harvey goes back to Haerviu, the name of a Breton saint. It is usually explained as two old Breton words, hoiarn (iron) and viu (blazing), though another theory reads it as “worthy of battle”. It also became an English surname, and modern Harvey is often taken from that surname.

In Ireland, Harvey has a second root. It was used as an English form of the Irish surnames Ó hAirmheadhaigh and Ó hEarchaidh, so some Irish Harveys carry a Gaelic family name rather than a Breton one.

Harvey first appears in the CSO records in 1968, but it stayed rare for a long time. Its best year was 2015, with 46 boys at number 136. It has become less common since, with 18 boys in 2025. It did better in Northern Ireland, where it reached number 76 in 2016.