Hal
2025 SSA
Below 5 births
About Hal
Could Hal be the Jack, Max, or Gus of the future? It just might happen in the new nickname environment, especially with Cal and Cy feeling cool, and with the interest in vintage, cowboy-esque choices, considering Hal ranked in the US Top 1000 in the first half of the 20th century.
Hal is a venerable nickname for Henry, Harry and Harold, famously used by Shakespeare in King Henry IV as the name of the king's son, the future Henry V, A number of show biz figures of a certain era have gone by the name too, including Hals Roach, Wallis, Ashby, Holbrook, David and Linden. In the eponymous film, Jack Black played "Shallow Hal."
As for the bad-guy machine in "2001: A Space Odyssey," that HAL stood for Heuristically programmed ALgorithmic computer.
Actor Hank Azaria put it on his son's birth certificate back in 2009, well-ahead of trend, while a recent year saw it given to around 30 babies: double the number it was being given to back in the 2010s.
Hal is also given to girls.
Pronounced HAL.
As of October 2026, Hal ranked #3151 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #305 in 1956, Nameberry popularity #679.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank · boys | Births · boys | US rank · girls | Births · girls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #4,437 | 22 | — | 0 |
| 2015 | #4,776 | 20 | — | 0 |
| 2016 | — | 0 | — | 0 |
| 2017 | — | 0 | — | 0 |
| 2018 | #3,642 | 30 | — | 0 |
| 2019 | #4,686 | 21 | — | 0 |
| 2020 | #3,361 | 33 | — | 0 |
| 2021 | #3,678 | 30 | — | 0 |
| 2022 | — | 0 | — | 0 |
| 2023 | #3,018 | 41 | — | 0 |
| 2024 | #3,471 | 33 | — | 0 |
| 2025 | #3,151 | 38 | — | 0 |
World rankings
Hal for boys
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Hal.
Hal on lists
Famous Hals
- Harriet Rebecca "Hal" Lane JohnstonBoy
acting first lady for her uncle James Buchanan
- Harold Eugene "Hal" RoachBoy
American film producer, director, actor
- Harold Rowe "Hal" HolbrookBoy
American actor
- Harold John "Hal" SmithBoy
American actor and voice actor
- Hal Linden (born Harold Lipshitz)Boy
American actor
- Harry Magee "Hal" Sparks IIIBoy
American actor/comedian
- Harold Dallas "Hal" RogersBoy
U.S. Congressman from Kentucky
- Harold Smith "Hal" PrinceBoy
American theatre producer
- (William) Hal AshbyBoy
American film director
- Harold John "Hal" Daub Jr.Boy
U.S. Congressman from Nebraska
- Hal Willis (born Leonald Francis Gauthier)Boy
Canadian country music singer
- Prince HalBoy
early nickname of King Henry V of England
- Thomas Henry Alex "Hal" RobsonBoy
Kanu, Welsh footballer
- Hal AzariaBoy
son of actor Hank Azaria and Katie Wright
- Hal Auden Cumberbatch (b. 2017)Boy
son of actor Benedict Cumberbatch and Sophie Hunter
Hal in pop culture
- Hal MikkelsonBoy
character in the Brotherband Chronicles by John Flanagan
- Hal Jordan aka Green LanternBoy
superhero
- Hal MasonBoy
character on TV's "Falling Skies"
- HalBoy
dad on TV's "Malcolm in the Middle"
- HAL 9000 (Heuristically programmed ALgorithmic computer)Boy
evil computer in book/film "2001: A Space Odyssey,"
- Hal WillisBoy
police detective of the 87th Precinct series by Ed McBain
- Hal TuckerBoy
character in movie "Cliffhanger"
- Electronic Person HALBoy
a villain in the manga and anime "Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro"
- Hal StewartBoy
character in the movie "Megamind"
- Hal CooperBoy
wife to Alice Cooper and father to Polly and Betty Cooper on the CW show Riverdale and the Archie Comics universe.
- Hal LarsonBoy
main character in the 2001 romantic,comedy movie "Shallow Hal" played by Jack Black
- Hal Auden CumberbatchBoy
youngest child of actor Benedict Cumberbatch and director Sophie Hunter
- HalGirl
Character in Disney's movie "Wish"