Hark as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Hark

What is the meaning of the name Hark ?

The baby name Hark is a boy name , 1 syllables long and is pronounced HAHRK.

Hark is English in Origin.

Hark is an English lexical name taken from the imperative verb hark, a reduced form beside hearken. Its root language is Old English: the earliest recorded form is heorcian, to listen or give heed, related to hieran, hear. Middle English spellings such as herken and herkien show the medial consonant that later simplified, leaving the compact one-syllable modern form and its literal sense of attentive listening.

As a personal name, Hark is better documented sporadically than continuously; it has appeared as both a given name and a surname, especially in Germanic and North Sea contexts. Hark Olufs, an eighteenth-century North Frisian sailor, and Hark Bohm, a German filmmaker, are notable bearers. In English-language culture the word is most familiar from literary and hymn diction, especially Charles Wesley’s Christmas carol Hark! The Herald Angels Sing. Modern registration as a first name remains rare.