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Britannica Sources used in this answer

How did the Dutch place-name Haarlem become Harlem?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Bar chart showing the 10 most given boy names in the U.S. in the 1880s, with John, William, and James as the top three, and counts for each name.
Name

The New York City neighborhood of Harlem was originally established in 1658 by the Dutch governor Peter Stuyvesant as the settlement of Nieuw Haarlem. It was named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands.1

The transition from the Dutch spelling "Haarlem" to the Anglicized "Harlem" occurred as the settlement evolved under English influence following the transition of the region from a Dutch colony to British control. Over time, the spelling was simplified to its current form, "Harlem," which is now the standard name for the district in northern Manhattan.1