According to the Oxford English Dictionary, "In English, the form hurrah is literary and dignified; hooray is usual in popular acclamation".

In common usage, such as cheers at sporting events and competitions, the speaker need not make distinction, and the words are distinguished by regional dialect and accent.

Whatever its origins, it has seen occasional literary use since at least the time of Shakespeare, as the first use was in 1573, according to Merriam-Webster.

It is named for a famous scene in the last season of , where main character Nate suffers a brain embolism.The origin of the word in its various forms is not clear, but it may have been influenced by war cries from various languages: the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) suggests Danish, Swedish, Dutch, Russian and Prussian words that may have played a part. The OED notes that in the 17th and 18th centuries, it was identified as a sailor's cheer or salute, and suggests that it was possibly related to words like heeze and hissa, which are cognates of hoist. Jack Weatherford asserts that it comes from the Mongolian Hurree; used by Mongol armies, and spread throughout the world during the Mongol Empire of the 13th century, By looking at the poetry and writings of the late 1700's you see words like say, play, and day which are used to rhyme with Huzza. In the 18th and early 19th centuries, three 'huzzahs' were given by British infantry before a bayonet charge, as a way of building morale and intimidating the enemy. Anything that falls under Wangst and Deus Angst Machina runs the risk of falling under Narm, as what is to be sad can instead come across as over-the-top ridiculous and absurd.In subtitled anime, Narms are often created through the use of badly used English.