Given name & surname
Henri
“home”·“power”·“ruler”
Henri is a variant of Henry. Henry combines “home” with “power” or “ruler,” giving the sense “ruler of the home.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Henri is a variant 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
Henri is a variant of Henry. Henry is an English form of a Continental Germanic name introduced to Britain by the Normans.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
In French use, Henri is used as a form of Henry. Henri is a variant 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
The name has a history of use among French royal or aristocratic families.
Henri through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 5,987
- 5,328 boys · 659 girls
- Most popular year
- 2021
- 154 babies
- 2025
- 95
- #1,714 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +5%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 95 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 1,714 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 6.7% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (13). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 5,131 as a first name in 2020; 822 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.
Henri’s family of names
In French usage, Henri has a diminutive in Rico. In Finnish usage, Henri developed from the English form Henry. In French usage, Henri has a conventional equivalent in the English form Harry.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Henri has relatives in 33 languages.
45 related names in 33 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 9
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Henryvariant · English
- Ricodiminutive · French
- Hendrikvariant · Estonian, Dutch
- Henrrilikely variant
- Hennrilikely variant
- Henrotaydiminutive · French
- Hainepet form · French
- Ritondiminutive · French
Show 1 moreShow fewer
Across languages 64
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- Ericequivalent
- Erikequivalent
- EnriqueSpanish
- Harryderivative · English
- Haroldequivalent
- Harrietfeminine form · English
- HenrikSwedish, Slovene
- Harrisderivative · English
Show 52 moreShow fewer
- HalEnglish
- HenriquePortuguese
- HenrykPolish
- Enricocognate · Italian
- Heinrichcognate · German
- Emmerichcognate · German
- Haraldequivalent
- Erichequivalent
- Eirikequivalent
- Erykequivalent
- Hendricequivalent
- Heinequivalent
- Henrieequivalent
- Henriettefeminine form · English
- HenrichSlovak
- HenkDutch
- EnricCatalan
- HeinzGerman
- Hinrikequivalent
- Henrihequivalent
- Enrikoequivalent
- Èricequivalent
- Éricequivalent
- Hendricusequivalent
- Henkleequivalent
- Henkeequivalent
- Andrinequivalent
- Eiríkurequivalent
- Ericusequivalent
- Hennekeequivalent
- Hinrichequivalent
- Hynekequivalent
- Henrikkiequivalent
- Hinnerkequivalent
- АнриRussian
- Heanriccognate · Old English
- Hindrekcognate · Estonian
- ΕρρίκοςGreek
- HenricoPortuguese, Italian
- Anraíderivative · Irish
- Hinricognate · Walloon
- Henrikascognate · Lithuanian
- Anrīborrowing · Latvian
- Émericcognate · French
- JindřichCzech
- EnricuSicilian
- IndriķisLatvian
- HenrijsLatvian
- HenricusLatin
- ヘンリーJapanese
- HarriFinnish
- HeikkiFinnish
And 4 more.
People named Henri
- Henri MatisseFrench artist (1869–1954)
- Henri BergsonFrench philosopher (1859–1941)
- Paul GauguinFrench painter and printmaker (1848–1903)
- Henri PoincaréFrench mathematician, physicist and engineer (1854–1912)
- Henry IV of FranceKing of Navarre from 1572 to 1610 and King of France from 1589 to 1610 (1553-1610)
- Philippe PétainFrench military and political leader (1856–1951)
- Henri de Toulouse-LautrecFrench painter and illustrator (1864–1901)
- Henri BarbusseFrench author (1873-1935)
- Henri MoissanFrench chemist (1852–1907)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Henri, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Hendry
“home” · “power”
>99% boys
Hendrick
“the ruler of the house” · “home”
>99% boys
Hugo
“a great thinker” · “having a bright mind”
>99% boys
Ciro
“a king”
>99% boys
Friedrich
“a peaceful ruler”
>99% boys
Aldric
“an old king”
>99% boys
Auguste
“one who is venerable; majestic”
>99% boys
Kingston
“from the king's town”
>99% boys