Henry

German
"estate ruler"

Henry Origin and Meaning

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

Henry is back. The classic Henry climbed back onto the Top 10 in the US in 2021 for the first time in over a century, and now stands at Number 8.

Like James and Theodore, Henry is a traditional name that also manages to feel stylish. Despite its popularity, it's not for everyone, but in some upscale American suburbs, it can seem as if every other little boy is named Henry or Theo or Jack.

Henry was derived from the French Henri, which ultimately comes from the Germanic name Heimrich, made up of the components heim, meaning "home" or "estate," and rich, meaning "ruler." The most famous bearer is Henry VIII of England, best known for having six wives—two of whom he beheaded for not bearing him sons. It’s been used in the British royal family many times since, including for the current prince better known as Harry.

Other illustrious Henrys that might provide baby name inspiration include Henry David Thoreau, Henry (Hank) Aaron, Henry James, Henry Ford and Henry Miller.

Numerous celebs have chosen Henry for their sons, from Julia Roberts to Minnie Driver to Heidi Klum to Colin Farrell.

Appealing international versions include Arrigo, Enrico, Enzio and Enrique.

# 8 in the US

Henry Rank in US Top 1000

# 13 on Nameberry

Henry Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Henry Popularity

Famous People Named Henry

  • Henry I
    V, Kings of France
  • Henry I
    VIII, Kings of England
  • Henry II
    VI, Holy Roman Emperors
  • Henry I
    IV, Kings of Castile
  • Henry the Fowler
    King of Germany
  • Henry
    King of Portugal
  • Henry Stuart
    Lord Darnley, King consort of Mary, queen of Scots
  • Henry Charles Albert David
    Prince of the United Kingdom, Duke of Sussex (commonly known as Prince Harry)
  • Henry the Navigator (Infante Dom Henrique)
    Portuguese prince
  • Henry Benedict Stuart aka Henry IX
    Jacobite pretender to the English throne
  • Henry Clay
    U.S. Secretary of State and Senator from Kentucky
  • Henry David Thoreau
    American author
  • Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
    American poet
  • Henry Rider Haggard
    British author
  • Henry Ford
    American founder of the Ford Motor Company
  • Heinz Alfred "Henry" Kissinger
    German,born U.S. Secretary of State
  • Henry Franklin Winkler
    American actor known for portraying "The Fonz"
  • Henry Jaynes "Hank" Fonda
    American actor
  • Henry
    Bishop of Finland
  • Henry Louis "Hank" Aaron
    American baseball player
  • Henry William Dalgliesh Cavill
    British actor
  • Henry James
    American novelist
  • Henry Bertram Price
    30th Governor of Guam
  • Henry Morrison Flagler
    American oilman and founder of Miami, Florida
  • Henry Hathaway (born Marquis Henri Léopold de Fiennes)
    American film director
  • Henry Oswald Simmons Jr.
    American actor
  • Henry Valentine Miller
    American novelist
  • Henry Ian Cusick
    Peruvian,born Scottish actor
  • Henry Morgan
    Welsh pirate
  • Henry Philip Hynoski
    American NFL football player
  • Henry James Melton
    American NFL football player
  • Henry Augustus Rowland
    American physicist
  • Henry Lau
    Canadian singer of Chinese boy band Super Junior,M
  • Henry Joseph Wood
    English conductor of The Proms
  • Henry Spencer Moore
    English sculptor
  • Henry "Harry" Goodsir
    Scottish medical doctor
  • Henry Neilson Wrigley
    Australian Air Force commander
  • O. Henry
    pen name of William Sydney Porter, American short story writer
  • Henry Lau
    Hong Kong,Canadian singer
  • Henry Gummer
    son of actress Meryl Streep
  • Henry Blake Mortensen
    son of actor Viggo Mortensen
  • Henry Pays Bernsen
    son of actor Corbin Bernsen
  • Henry Hall
    son of actors Julia Louis,Dreyfus and Brad Hall
  • Henry Günther Ademola Dashtu Samuel (b. 2005)
    son of model Heidi Klum and singer Seal
  • Henry Chance Aronofsky (b. 2006)
    son of actress Rachel Weisz
  • Henry Daniel Moder (b. 2007)
    son of actress Julia Roberts and Daniel Moder
  • Henry Lee White (b. 2007)
    son of musician Jack White and model Karen Elson
  • Henry Story Lea (b. 2008)
    son of actress Minnie Driver and Timothy J. Lea
  • Henry Tadeusz Farrell (b. 2009)
    son of actor Colin Farrell
  • Henry Atticus Green (b. 2010)
    son of novelist John Green
  • Henry Flowers (b. 2011)
    son of singer Brandon Flowers of The Killers
  • Henry Lamar Hornsby (b. 2011)
    son of actors David Hornsby and Emily Deschanel
  • Henry Peet Friedman (b. 2014)
    son of actress Amanda Peet
  • Henry Richard Francis Jackson (b. 2015)
    son of actress Emily Symons and Paul Jackson
  • Henry Griffiths (b. 2015)
    son of vloggers Beau & Emily Griffiths from the channel A Griffiths Life Vlogs
  • Henry Harris Hebel (b. 2016)
    son of American actress and comedian Rachael Harris
  • Henry Wilberforce Seewald (b. 2017)
    son of reality TV's Jessa (Duggar) and Ben Seewald
  • Henry Magnus Dunstan
    son of Australian youtubers Rohan and Chloe Dunstan (Life with Beans)
  • Henry Harold "Hal" Hager
    (b. 2019), son of Harry and Jenna Bush Hager.

Henry in Pop Culture

  • "Oh
    Henry" song by the Civil Wars
  • Oh Henry!
    chocolate bar
  • "The Wallflower (Roll With Me
    Henry)," song by Etta James
  • Lord Henry "Harry" Wotton
    character in Oscar Wilde's "The Picture of Dorian Gray"
  • Henry Clerval
    character in Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein"
  • Dr Henry Jekyll
    character from "Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde"
  • Henry Winter
    character in Donna Tartt's "The Secret History"
  • Henry Higgins
    character in G. B. Shaw's "Pygmalion" and musical "My Fair Lady"
  • Henry Baskerville
    character in Arthur Conan Doyle’s “The Hound of the Baskervilles”
  • Henry Rowengartner
    character in movie "Rookie of the Year"
  • Henry Jones Jr.
    aka Indiana Jones, movie character
  • Henry Denton
    character in Shaun David Hutchinson's "We Are The Ants"
  • Henry Deacon
    character on TV's "Eureka"
  • Henry Hart
    aka Kid Danger, character on Nickelodeon's TV series "Henry Danger"
  • Henry Tilney
    character in Jane Austen's "Northanger Abbey"
  • Henry Gale aka Uncle Henry
    character in L. Frank Baum's The Wizard of Oz
  • Henry Townshend
    character in video game "Silent Hill 4: The Room"
  • Henry Gondorff
    main character in movie "The Sting"
  • Henry Mills
    character on TV's "Once Upon a Time"
  • Henry Bass
    Chuck Bass and Blair Waldorf's son on TV's "Gossip Girl"
  • Henry
    character in "Fire Emblem: Awakening"
  • Henry DeTamble
    the time traveler in book/movie "The Time Traveler's Wife"
  • Henry
    train on animated series "Thomas & Friends"
  • Henry Graham
    main character in movie "A New Leaf"
  • Henry "Harry" Sandwith
    main character in G. A. Henty's, In the Reign of Terror
  • Henry Dashwood
    character in movie "What a Girl Wants"
  • Henry Gibson
    character on TV's "What I Like About You"
  • Henry Alden
    character in The Boxcar Children series
  • Henry Roth
    character in movie "50 First Dates"
  • Henry Spencer
    character on TV's "Psych"
  • Henry Branwell
    character in Cassandra Clare's "Infernal Devices" Series
  • Henry D'Ysquith
    character in musical "A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder"
  • Henry Hugglemonster
    character in the British animated series of the same name
  • Henry Evans
    character in movie "The Good Son"
  • Henry Huggins
    character in books by Beverly Cleary
  • Henry Jareau
    LaMontagne, Jennifer Jareau's son on TV's "Criminal Minds"
  • Henry Jonathan "Hank" Pym
    character in Marvel Universe
  • Henry Pym Jr.
    character in Marvel Universe
  • Henry Philip "Hank" McCoy
    character in Marvel Universe
  • Henry Morgan
    main character of the television series "Forever".
  • Henry Sikorsky
    character in movie "The Dream Team"
  • Henry Yewbeam
    character in Jenny Nimmo's "The Children of the Red King" series
  • Henry Pollard
    main character in the TV series "Party Down"
  • Henry Harper
    character in Kerstin Gier's 'Silber Trilogy'
  • Henry York Maccabee
    character in N.D. Wilson"s "100 Cupboards" Trilogy
  • Henri Jaakoppi
    character in Kiera Cass' 'Selection' Series
  • Henry "Harry" Potter
    Great grandfather of Harry Potter, grandfather to James Potter, father of Fleamont Potter; character in the Harry Potter series
  • Henry Allen
    character in DC Universe
  • Henry Hewitt
    character in DC Universe
  • Henry Shaw
    Sr. and Jr., characters in J.K. Rowling's "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them"
  • Henry Talbot
    character on TV's "Downton Abbey"
  • Henry Wong
    character in anime "Digimon Tamers"
  • Henry Deaver
    character in "Castle Rock"
  • Henry Burton
    husband of Teddy Altman on TV's "Grey's Anatomy"
  • Henry Andrews
    character on TV's "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation"
  • Prince Henry
    character in "Ever After"
  • "The History of Henry Esmond
    " novel by William Makepeace Thackeray
  • "Henry
    " newspaper comic strip by Carl Anderson and its main character
  • Henry
    Luxa's cousin in Gregor The Overlander
  • Henry Turner
    son of Will and Elizabeth Turner in "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales"
  • Henry McCord
    character on TV's "Madam Secretary"

Henry in Nameberry Blog Posts