Harry

HA-ree

Diminutive of Henry

"estate ruler"

Harry Origin and Meaning

The name Harry is a boy's name of German origin meaning "estate ruler".

Harry is the medieval English form of Henry, which derived from the Germanic name Heimrich, meaning "estate ruler." Harry was the nickname of all eight King Henrys; it is also a diminutive of Harold and Harrison.

Harry was everyone's elderly uncle until Princess Diana, following British royal tradition, named her son Henry but called him Harry. Then Harry Potter became a rage and Harry Styles of One Direction became the hottest boy bander of the new millennium. Thus, Harry's avuncular image was history. Harry is still much more popular in England, Ireland, and Scotland than it is in the US, but its classic yet unpretentious image makes it a recommended choice.

Harry was a Top 20 name in the US from 1880 to 1918, and continued in the Top 100 into the 1950s (hence the song "I'm Just Wild About Harry"), and has countless worthy namesakes, including Truman, Belafonte, and Houdini.

Among the celebs who have chosen this good guy name for their sons are David Letterman (it was his father's name), Simon Baker, and Billy Bob Thornton. It's also found in a number of movie titles from The Trouble with Harry to Dirty Harry to When Harry Met Sally.

Something to think about when using Harry: how does it sound in your accent? It might sound great, or it could sound a bit to hairy.

Harry Rank in US Top 1000

# 782 in the US

Harry Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 225 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Harry

• 782 US 2023
• 225 Nameberry 2025
• 657 Future 2028
• 21 England 2023
• 31 Scotland 2024
• 20 Ireland 2024
• 28 Australia 2024
• 73 New Zealand 2024
• 27 Sweden 2024
• 80 Cats 2022

20 Names Similar to Harry

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Harry.

• George
• Louis
• Peter
• Charles
• Edward
• Charlie
• Thomas
• Patrick
• John
• Simon
• Philip
• Samuel
• Paul
• Joseph
• Frank
• Lewis
• Jack
• Max
• Frederick
• William

Famous People Named Harry

• Harry Alan Towers English film producer
• Harry S. Truman 33rd U.S. President
• Harold Andrew "Harry" Blackmun U.S. Supreme Court Justice
• Harry Houdini (born Erik Weisz) Hungarian,American escape artist
• Harry Mason Reid U.S. Senator from Nevada
• Prince Harry (née Henry Charles Albert David) Duke of Sussex, a member of the British royal family
• Harry Lewis YouTube personality known as Wroetoshaw
• Harry Edward Styles English singer, songwriter and actor
• Harry Frederick Harlow American psychologist
• (Joseph) Harry Connick Jr. American singer and actor
• Harold George "Harry" Belafonte American singer, actor and activist
• Harry Robinson Hamlin American actor
• Harry Laverne Anderson American actor
• Harry Truman Reasoner American TV journalist
• Harry Albert Atkinson 10th Premier of New Zealand
• Harry Foster Chapin American singer,songwriter
• Harry Edward Nilsson American singer,songwriter
• Harry Mark Christopher Judd drummer of British band McFly
• Harry Douglas American NFL football player
• Hubert August "Harry" Piel German actor, screenwriter, and film director
• Harry Fleetwood Andrews English actor
• Harry Mondryk English singer
• Harry Lawrence Newman American NFL football player
• Harry John Treadway English actor
• Harry Fielding Reid American geophysicist
• Harry Morgan American actor
• Harry Neal Baum American author
• Harry Bache Smith American songwriter
• Harry Edson Browne American investment analyst, author and politician
• Henry George "Harry" Chauvel Australian WWI general
• George Henry Stevens "Harry" Trott Australian cricketer
• Harry Danning American baseball player
• Harry Surtees Altham English cricketer
• Harry Lloyd English actor
• Harry Gordon Selfridge Sr. British retail magnate
• Harry Broad New Zealand author
• Harry Shum Jr. Costa Rican,American actor, dancer, singer, and choreographer
• Harry James Thornton son of actor Billy Bob Thornton and model Pietra Dawn Cherniak
• Harry Letterman son of American comedian and TV personality David Letterman
• Harry Friday Baker son of actors Simon Baker and Rebecca Rigg

The name Harry in Pop Culture

• Harry James Potter main character in J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter" series
• Harry Osborn friend of Peter Parker/Spiderman in Marvel's "Spiderman"
• Dirty Harry Callahan main character in the "Dirty Harry" movies
• Harry Burns main character in film "When Harry Met Sally"
• Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch main character in novels by Michael Connelly and TV's "Bosch"
• Harry Fisher character on TV's "Waterloo Road"
• Harry Coleman character in 2003 movie "Freaky Friday"
• Harry Bailey George's younger brother in movie "It's a Wonderful Life"
• Harry Haller main character in Hermann Hesse's "Steppenwolf"
• Harry Pearce character on TV's "Spooks"
• Harry Paget Flashman main character in the "Flashman" series by George MacDonald Fraser
• Harry Prendergast main character in G. A. Henty's "The Treasure of the Incas"
• Harry character on TV's "7th Heaven"
• Harry Crane character on TV's "Mad Men"
• Harry Mason character in the "Silent Hill" video game series
• Harry Solomon character on TV's "3rd Rock from the Sun"
• Harry Dresden main character in "The Dresden Files" series by Jim Butcher
• Horrible Harry children's book series by Suzy Kline
• Harry Furness main character in G. A. Henty's "Friends Though Divided"
• Harry Dunne main character in movie "Dumb and Dumber"
• Harry "Opie" Winston character on TV's "Sons of Anarchy"
• Harry Lime robber in the "Home Alone" movies
• Henry "Harry" Sandwith main character in G. A. Henty's "In the Reign of Terror"
• Harry Carrington character in "Elsie Dinsmore" series
• Henry "Harry" Wotton character in "The Picture of Dorian Gray"
• Harry "Galahad" Hart character from "Kingsman: The Secret Service"
• Harry S. Truman character in "Twin Peaks"
• Harry a character in "The Forest of Hands and Teeth," by Carrie Ryan
• Harry main character in short story "The Black Mamba" by author Liam Holt
• Harrison "Harry" Wells character from TV's "The Flash"
• Harry Doyle character in ABC's "Quantico"
• Bad Hat Harry a production company
• Harry Sullivan a companion on TV’s "Doctor Who"
• Harry Bright character in the "Mamma Mia!" musical and films
• Harry Hunter character in the 1962 film "The Phantom of the Opera"
• Harry Greenwood character on "Charmed" reboot
• Harrier "Harry" Du Bois character in the video game "Disco Elysium"
• Harry Grant Character on ABC's "9-1-1"