Henry (given name)

Henry is a masculine given name derived from Old French Henri or Henry, which is derived from the Old Frankish name Heimeric, from Common Germanic “Haimarīks” (from *haima- "home" and *rīk- "ruler"). In Old High German, the name was conflated with the name Haginrich (from hagin "enclosure" and rich "ruler") to form Heinrich.

The Old High German name is recorded from the 8th century, in the variants Haimirich, Haimerich, Heimerich, Hemirih. Harry, its English short form, was considered the "spoken form" of Henry in medieval England. Most English kings named Henry were called Harry. The name became so popular in England that the phrase "Tom, Dick, and Harry" began to be used to refer to men in general. The most common English feminine forms of the name are Harriet and Henrietta. An Italian variant descended from the Old High German name, Amerigo, was the source from which the continents of the Americas were named.

It has been a consistently popular name in English-speaking countries for centuries. It has also ranked among the top 100 most popular names used for men born in the Canada, United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, and also in European countries such as Germany, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland. Henry has been among the 10 most popular names for boys in Australia since 2017; in the United States since 2020; in England and Wales in 2021 and again in 2023. It was the 46th most common name for boys and men in the United States in the 1990 census, and has ranked among the ten most popular names for American newborn boys since 2020. Henry was the 23rd most popular name among Harvard University students in 2025. The name was more popular for newborn boys who went on to attend Harvard than it was for newborn American boys among the general population of the United States during the years the future Harvard students were born. Harry, its short form, has been among the top 100 names in the United Kingdom since 1994 and among the top 10 names at different times between 2000 and 2021, and among the top 100 names in Ireland since the 1990s and among the top 10 names at different times between 2011 and 2020. It is also in use as a surname.