Henry Name Meaning & Origin
Henry
Origin of the name Henry:
From the French Henri, from the German Heinrich, which is from the Old High German Haganrih (ruler of an enclosure), a compound name composed from the elements hag (an enclosure, a hedging-in) and rihhi (ruler), and from the Old High German Heimerich (home ruler), a compound name composed from the elements heim (home) and rik (ruler, king). The name, introduced by the Normans and borne by eight English kings, took the English vernacular form of Harry until the 17th century, when Henry became popular and Harry was used as the pet form.
From A World of Baby Names by Teresa Norman.
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US Popularity of Henry Over Time

Sister & Brother Names
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Name Lists Featuring Henry
- Swedish Boys Names: Most Popular Names for Boys in Sweden 2014
- Australian Boys Names: Most Popular Names for Boys in Australia (New South Wales) 2014
- Australian Boys Names: Most Popular Names for Boys in Australia (Victoria) 2014
- New Zealand Boys Names: Most Popular Names for Boys in New Zealand 2014
- Irish Boys Names: Most Popular Names for Boys in the Republic of Ireland 2014
- English and Welsh Boys Names: Most Popular Names for Boys in England and Wales (2013)
- Irish Boys Names: Most Popular Names for Boys in Northern Ireland 2014
- German Boys Names: Most Popular Names for Boys in Germany 2014
- Australian Boys Names: Most Popular Names for Boys in Australia (New South Wales), 2010
- Australian Boys Names: Most Popular Names for Boys in Australia (Victoria), 2010
- New Zealand Boys Names: Most Popular Names for Boys in New Zealand, 2010
- English and Welsh Boys Names: Most Popular Names for Boys in England and Wales
- English Boys Names: Most Popular Names for Boys in England
- Welsh Boys Names: Most Popular Names for Boys in Wales
- Irish Boys Names: Most Popular Names for Boys in Northern Ireland for 2012
- Australian Boys Names: Most Popular Names for Boys in Australia (New South Wales) for 2012
- Australian Boys Names: Most Popular Names for Boys in Australia (Victoria) for 2012
- New Zealand Boys Names: Most Popular Names for Boys in New Zealand for 2012
- Swedish Boys Names: Most Popular Names for Boys in Sweden for 2012
- Scottish Boys Names: Most Popular Names for Boys in Scotland
- German Boys Names: Most Popular Names for Boys in Germany
- Irish Boys Names: Most Popular Names for Boys in the Republic of Ireland
- Swedish Boys Names: Most Popular Names for Boys in Sweden
- Canadian Boys Names: Most Popular Names for Boys in Canada (Nova Scotia)
- Australian Boys Names: Most Popular Names for Boys in Australia (New South Wales)
- Taswegian Boys Names: Most Popular Names for Boys in Tasmania
- Australian Boys Names: Most Popular Names for Boys in Australia (Victoria)
- New Zealand Boys Names: Most Popular Names for Boys in New Zealand
- Australian Boys Names: Most Popular Names for Boys in Australia (Western)
- Australian Boys Names: Most Popular Names for Boys in Australia (Northern)
- Australian Boys Names: Most Popular Names for Boys in Australia (Southern)
- Australian Boys Names: Most Popular Names for Boys in Australia (Queensland)
- English Boys Names: Most Popular Names for Boys in England
Contribute your knowledge to the name Henry
- Comments and insights on the name Henry
I have a 2-year-old named Henry. I have loved the name since I was a teenager. It suits him very well and I think it's a classic, strong name that fits a child or adult. It has become more popular in the time since he was born, although I was always set on the name, so there was never any doubt as to what we would name him.
Henry is a strong, classic name, and I like Hank for a nickname.
This is a family name and I absolutely love it!
All Henry's eat their pee pee and poo poo and love licking the toilet after it's flushed. Poo poo poo poo poo!
- Personal experiences with the name Henry
My only negative experience with Henry is people often misspell it as Henery and its really irritating.
My 4-year-old Henry is often called Henny or Hen. My older kids nicknamed him The Hen Dog, so he gets called that too. Just goes to show you can't predict everything!
Henry is the name of my 2 year old son. I have loved his name for many years and is suits him perfectly. Many people seem to love it, and we have received many compliments on it. For me, Henry is the perfect mix of regal classic and comfy favorite.
I'm in love with this name! It was a no-brainer for us as well and we have a wild, dashing little Henry who will soon be 2-years-old. Expected that if we used a nickname it would probably be "Hank" but have actually ended up calling him "Hen"
more often than anything else.This name was never a consideration, but when I got pregnant, it somehow crept on to the list and it is the one we chose. My son is 15-months and we love his name. Me and my daughter call him Hen or Hens but my husband calls him Hank (not my favorite).
My brother's name is Henry, and we call him Hank all the time. Love it!
My sons name is Henry, and we usually call him Hen, ReeRee, Henny, and Reece. Not sure how we ever ended up with Reece but its my favourite nickname of his.
My son's name is Henry. We named him 2010. About that time it became popular, and he has another Henry in his class. But overall, I get a lot of compliments on the name. Especially from the older generation. We almost always call him Henry, with the occasional person calling him Hank, but he hates that. My favorite nickname for him is Chicken Nugget, because calling him Hen made me think of a chicken, and that became Chicken Nugget. I suspect that nickname will fall off quickly now that he is 7.
My brother’s name is Henry and he gets called Hen, Hennas or just Henry. I think it really suits him as the youngest person in the family.
- Nicknames for Henry
Harry, Hank, Hal, Hens, Reece, Helo,
Hen, Ry, Henz, Henny-Benny, Hank-Tank, Hanky,
Renny, Hensy,Hennessy, Ren, Ree Ree, Hennas- Meanings and history of the name Henry
German for "ruler of the house"
- Famous real-life people named Henry
King Henry I-VIII of England
Henry David Thoreau - American writer
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow - American poet
Henry Ford - American founder of the Ford Motor Company
Henry Winkler - American actor
Henry Aaron - American baseball player
Henry Cavill - English actor
Henry Fonda - American actor
Henry James - American writer
Henry Bertram Price - Governor of Guam
Henry Green, son of author and vlogger John Michael Green
Henry Rollins (born 1961), Singer of Black Flag, Rollins Band; Author; Actor (Sons of Anarchy, Hawaii Five-0, etc.); Spoken Word Artist; Tattoo-Influencer and Bodybuilder
Henry Clay- politician
Henry Louis Gates Jr.
- Henry Hill - gangster was the inspiration for "Goodfellas"
Henry Mancini - composer
Henry Flagler - American tycoon; founder of Miami, Florida
Henry Hathaway - American film director
Henry Miller - American writer
Henry Hynoski - American NFL football player
Henry Melton - American NFL football player
HRH Prince Henry Charles Albert David of Wales
Henry Günther Ademola Dashtu Samuel (b. 2006), son of German model, television personality, businesswoman, fashion designer, singer, television producer, author, and actress Heidi Klum and British singer and songwriter Seal
Henry Chance Aronofsky (b. 2006), son of Academy-Award-winning British actress Rachel Weisz
Henry Daniel Moder (b. 2007), son of American actress and producer Julia Roberts
Henry Lee White (b. 2007), son of American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor Jack White and English model and singer-songwriter Karen Elson
Henry Story Driver (b. 2008), son of English actress and singer-songwriter Minnie Driver
Henry Tadeusz Farrell (b. 2009), son of Irish actor Colin Farrell
Henry Flowers (b. 2011), son of American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Brandon Flowers
Henry Lamar Hornsby (b. 2011), son of American actress, director, and producer Emily Deschanel and American actor, screenwriter, and producer David Hornsby- Henry in song, story & screen
- Henry Spencer "Psych" (The main characters father)
- Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr. (Indiana Jones's real name)
- Henry Mitchell, the husband of Alice Mitchell and father of Dennis Mitchell in "Dennis the Menace"- Henry Mitchell, the husband of Paige Matthews on the televison show "Charmed"
- Henry Mitchell Jr., adopted and the only son and youngest child of Henry Mitchell and Paige Matthews on the televison show "Charmed", the eldest of his twin sisters; Tamora, two-minutes older and the oldest, and Katrina "Kat", two-minutes younger, and the middle child.- Henry Tilney (Hero in Jane Austen's novel Northanger Abbey)
- Henry DeTamble (The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger)
- Henry Huggins (Beverly Cleary's series about Henry and about Ramona Quimby)
- Professor Henry Higgins (Shaw's Pygmalion/My Fair Lady)
- King Henry II (The Lion in Winter, Anouilh's Becket)
- King Henry IV (Shakespeare's Henry IV pts 1 and 2)
- King Henry V (Shakespeare's Henry IV pts 1 and 2 and Henry V)
- King Henry VIII (various)
- Iron Henry (Castle Waiting by Linda Medley)
- Henry (Engine #3 from Thomas the Tank Engine)
- "I'm Henry VIII, I Am," song by Herman's Hermits
- "Henry the Octopus" (The Wiggles' stage shows, tv show, songs, and movies)
- Henry and June, a book and movie based on the lives of literary figures Henry Miller and Anais Nin
- "Roll with Me, Henry", a song by Johnny Otis, Hank Ballard and Etta James, officially titled "The Wall Flower"; also known as "Dance With Me, Henry"
- Henry is the boy in some versions of "A Bicycle Built for Two," which include a response from Daisy to his proposal.
- 'There's a Hole in My Bucket': a conversational song between dear Henry and dear Liza.
- Uncle Henry, "The Wizard of Oz"
- Henry Alden, the oldest of four children in "The Boxcar Children" book series (originally) written by Gertrude Chandler Warner
- Henry Aldrich, title character in "Henry Aldrich" radio show ("Hen-Reeeeee!")
- Henry Pym, secret identity of Ant-Man/Giant-Man/Goliath/Yellowjacket in Marvel comics
- Henry McCoy, secret identity of Beast in Marvel comics
- Henry Townshend, photographer, main character of survival-horror video game "Silent Hill 4"
- Henry LaMontagne, the Son of JJ (Jennifer Jareau) and Will from Criminal Minds
- Prince Henry, in the 1998 film "Ever After"
- Henry Mills, in the TV show Once Upon a Time
- Henry Quiner from The Little House series
- Colonel Henry Blake, character on M*A*S*H television show
- Dr. Henry Jekyll from Robert Louis Stevenson's "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde"
Horrid Henry, from the children’s books
-Dr.Henry Allen from the CWs Flash