Given name & surname · also German, Latin
Henry
“home”·“power”·“ruler”
Henry combines the ideas of home and rule, with royal use helping it travel across Europe.
Original GermanHeinrich
Meaning & origin
What it means
The name combines “home” with “power” or “ruler,” giving the sense “ruler of the home.”
Where it comes from
Henry is an English form of a Continental Germanic name introduced to Britain by the Normans.
How it developed
Its 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.
The story
Henry was borne by eight kings of England, and related forms were used by rulers elsewhere in Europe. That repeated royal use helped give the name a lasting place in several naming traditions.
Henry through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 773,564
- 768,945 boys · 4,619 girls
- Most popular year
- 2025
- 12,040 babies
- 2025
- 12,040
- #5 for boys · #5,993 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +8%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 12,020 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 5 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 7.7% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. It also appeared in 20 birth records for girls in 2025. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (873). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 354,666 as a first name in 2020; 166,610 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.
Henry’s family of names
In English usage, Henry has a diminutive in Harry. Henry shares a linguistic root with Enrique. In English usage, Henry has a conventional equivalent in the Italian form Enrico.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Henry has relatives in 39 languages. Lines run from its Proto-Germanic roots to each of them.
70 related names in 39 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 41
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Hinrichvariant · German
- Hankdiminutive · English, Czech
- Harrydiminutive · English, Czech
- Henrikvariant · Swedish, Norwegian
- Henrivariant · French, Finnish
- Haldiminutive · English
- Henriquevariant · Portuguese
- Henrykvariant · Polish
Show 33 moreShow fewer
- Henrrylikely variant
- Henrickvariant
- Hendryvariant · English
- Henningvariant
- Endrikvariant · Estonian
- Herrynickname
- Hennrylikely variant
- Heneryvariant · English
- Harriotdiminutive · English
- Henricvariant
- Henreyvariant
- Henrievariant
- Heikopet form
- Heinzpet form · German
- Henryelikely variant
- Hendrievariant · English
- Hendreyvariant · English
- Herriotdiminutive · English
- Heitivariant · Estonian
- Heikivariant · Estonian
- Heigovariant · Estonian
- Ennvariant · Estonian
- Heinovariant · Estonian
- Handpet form · English
- Henyngvariant
- Hennyngvariant
- Heningvariant
- Henrycvariant
- Henryckvariant
- Henreavariant
- Henreevariant
- Χένρυvariant · English, Greek
- Quiquepet form
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 80
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- Emmerichcognate · German
- Heinrichcognate · German
- Heinecognate · German
- HenricusLatin
- Enzocognate · Italian, English
- Ericequivalent
- Erikequivalent
- Enriquedoublet · Spanish
Show 52 moreShow fewer
- Haroldequivalent
- Harrietfeminine form
- Harrisequivalent
- Hendrickcognate · Dutch
- Henriettafeminine form
- Hendrikcognate · Dutch, Estonian
- Henson“son of” surname · English
- Enricocognate · Italian
- Haraldequivalent
- Erichequivalent
- Eirikequivalent
- Erykequivalent
- Heinequivalent
- Heikeequivalent
- Enricafeminine form
- Hendricequivalent
- Enriccognate · Catalan
- HenkDutch
- HenrichSlovak
- Enrikoequivalent
- Henkleequivalent
- Andrinequivalent
- Eiríkurequivalent
- Ericusequivalent
- Hennekeequivalent
- Errikosequivalent
- Hinnerkequivalent
- Heaikaequivalent
- Генрихequivalent
- Հենրիկequivalent
- Inryequivalent
- Henryson“son of” surname · English
- Генриborrowing · Russian
- Heanriccognate · Old English
- Hindrekcognate · Estonian
- ヘンリーborrowing · Japanese
- ΕρρίκοςGreek
- HenricoPortuguese
- Henrikascognate · Lithuanian
- Hennpatronymic from · English
- Henelēborrowing · Hawaiian
- Hanalēborrowing · Hawaiian
- Harricognate · Welsh, Finnish
- HeiniFaroese
- Jindřichcognate · Czech
- Hanraoirelated form
- Èricequivalent
- Henrihequivalent
- Hendricusequivalent
- Éricequivalent
- Henkeequivalent
- HerriBreton
And 20 more.
See also 3
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Henry
- Henry FordAmerican business magnate (1863–1947)
- Henry David ThoreauAmerican essayist, poet, and philosopher (1817–1862)
- Henry KissingerAmerican diplomat and geopolitical advisor, served as U.S. Secretary of State from 1973 to 1977 (1923–2023)
- Henry VIIIKing of England from 1509 to 1547 (1491–1547)
- Henry Wadsworth LongfellowAmerican poet and educator (1807–1882)
- Graham GreeneBritish writer, playwright and literary critic (1904–1991)
- Henry DunantSwiss businessman and co-founder of the Red Cross (1828-1910)
- Henry IV of FranceKing of Navarre from 1572 to 1610 and King of France from 1589 to 1610 (1553-1610)
- Henry JamesAmerican and British writer (1843–1916)
Characters named Henry: Indiana Jones (fictional archaeologist), Hank Schrader (the television drama series Breaking Bad), Henry Chinaski (fictional character, alter ego of Charles Bukowski), Vecna (Netflix series Stranger Things).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
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