Given name & surname · also French
Harry
“the ruler of an army”·“home”·“power”
Harry has been a familiar English form of Henry since the Middle Ages.
Original FrenchHenri
Meaning & origin
What it means
In English use, Harry is a diminutive of Harold. One Scandinavian interpretation is “the ruler of an army.” In English use, Harry is a diminutive of Henry. Henry combines “home” with “power” or “ruler,” giving the sense “ruler of the home.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
A possible origin is French, although the derivation remains uncertain.
How it developed
In English use, Harry is used as an affectionate form of Henry. Harry is used as a form of Harold. In English use, Harry is a diminutive of Henry. The shared background comes through Henry: Henry’s Germanic elements are haim and ric. In England, Henry became the standard everyday form over Harry in the seventeenth century, influenced by Latin Henricus and French Henri.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
The story
Harry was once an ordinary English form of Henry, not simply a modern nickname. Shakespeare uses it as the familiar name of the adult Henry V, while Hal belongs to the prince’s younger persona.
Harry through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 425,883
- 423,866 boys · 2,017 girls
- Most popular year
- 1918
- 9,938 babies
- 2025
- 329
- #775 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −13%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 329 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 775 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 12.7% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 9,896 in 1918. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (43). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 138,544 as a first name in 2020; 8,673 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Harry’s family of names
In English usage, Harry is a diminutive of Henry. In English usage, Harry developed from Henri. Harry is a form of Harold.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Harry has relatives in 39 languages. Lines run from its English roots to each of them.
Nicknames & forms 16
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 73
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- Henriroot · French, Old French
- Harrison“son of” surname · English
- Ericequivalent
- Enriqueequivalent
- Erikequivalent
- Henrikequivalent
- Garyequivalent
- Hendrikequivalent
Show 52 moreShow fewer
- Henriqueequivalent
- Henrykequivalent
- EnricoItalian
- HariSerbo-Croatian, Esperanto
- Heinrichequivalent
- Garryequivalent
- Erichequivalent
- Haleborrowing · Hawaiian
- Eirikequivalent
- Erykequivalent
- Garikequivalent
- Garriequivalent
- Hendricequivalent
- Henrichequivalent
- Heinzequivalent
- Henkequivalent
- Heinequivalent
- Enricequivalent
- Գարիկequivalent
- Henrihequivalent
- Èricequivalent
- Éricequivalent
- Hendricusequivalent
- Henkleequivalent
- Henkeequivalent
- Andrinequivalent
- Eiríkurequivalent
- Ericusequivalent
- Hinrichequivalent
- Hynekequivalent
- Hinnerkequivalent
- Henricusequivalent
- ХарриRussian, Mongolian
- ΕρρίκοςGreek
- Harijsborrowing · Latvian
- JindřichCzech
- Гарриequivalent
- Henrikasequivalent
- האַריYiddish
- خاررىUyghur
- Га́рріUkrainian
- แฮร์รี่Thai
- ХариSerbo-Croatian, Macedonian
- Ха́рриRussian
- Га́рриRussian
- هریPersian
- HareMāori
- HenrīcusLatin
- HarriusLatin
- 해리Korean
- ہیریks
- Hárîpam
And 13 more.
People named Harry
- Harry S. Trumanpresident of the United States from 1945 to 1953; politician (1884–1972)
- Bing CrosbyAmerican singer and actor (1903–1977)
- Sinclair LewisAmerican writer and playwright (1885–1951)
- Harry HoudiniHungarian-born American illusionist, escapologist, and stunt performer (1874–1926)
- Harry KaneEnglish association football player (born 1993)
- Harry MartinsonSwedish writer (1904–1978)
- Harry StylesEnglish singer, songwriter and actorborn 1994
- Harry BelafonteAmerican singer, actor and civil rights activist (1927–2023)
- Harry MulischDutch writer (1927–2010)
Characters named Harry: Harry Kim (Star Trek: Voyager), Harry Hole (main character in a series of crime novels written by Norwegian author Jo Nesbø), Harry Bosch (fictional detective created by author Michael Connelly), Harry Flashman (fictional character).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Harry, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Ferdinand
“a courageous voyager”
>99% boys
Homer
“a tomboyish woman” · “of the pledge; an epic poet”
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Ralph
“wolt counsel”
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Elroy
“a red-haired young man” · “a king”
>99% boys
Orville
“from the gold town”
>99% boys
Howard
“army guardian” · “the guardian of the home”
>99% boys
Rexford
“from the king's ford”
>99% boys
Reynold
“the king's advisor”
>99% boys