Henrietta
About Henrietta
Despite a return to such feminizations of male names as Josephine, Clementine, and Theodora, starchy Henrietta has not made it into that group. Still, if you look hard enough, you'll see that Henrietta has the same vintage charm.
The name arrived in England in 1625 via King Charles I's wife, the French princess Henriette Marie, who became known as Henrietta Maria. Her daughter shared her name but was known as Minette.
It has been prominent recently through the bestselling book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, the story of the poor black woman whose cells became one of the most important tools in medical research. Henrietta Szold was a U.S. Zionist leader and founder of the Hadassah Women's Organization.
Henrietta has a number of charming vintage nicknames, including Etta, Hetty and Hattie.
As of October 2026, Henrietta ranked #2666 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #105 in 1892, Nameberry popularity #753.
Editor's take: The name Henrietta is a girl's name of French, English origin meaning "estate ruler".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #2,426 | 75 | 42 |
| 2015 | #2,822 | 62 | 34.7 |
| 2016 | #2,652 | 66 | 37.2 |
| 2017 | #2,724 | 63 | 36.5 |
| 2018 | #2,658 | 65 | 38.2 |
| 2019 | #2,294 | 79 | 47.1 |
| 2020 | #2,426 | 72 | 44.5 |
| 2021 | #2,196 | 85 | 51.8 |
| 2022 | #2,281 | 82 | 50 |
| 2023 | #2,988 | 56 | 34.9 |
| 2024 | #2,135 | 89 | 54.9 |
| 2025 | #2,666 | 65 | 40.4 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Henrietta.
- Philippa
- Bernadette
- Augusta
- Agatha
- Dorothea
- Marjorie
- Wilhelmina
- Constance
- Agnes
- Tabitha
- Marguerite
- Millicent
- Jemima
- Maud
- Rosamund
- Cornelia
- Lois
- Alma
- Dorothy
- Joan
Henrietta on lists
Famous Henriettas
- Henrietta Maria
Queen consort of Charles I of England
- Henrietta of England
Duchess of Orleans, daughter of Charles I
- Henrietta "Jetty" Treffz
Austrian operatic mezzo,soprano; first wife of composer Johann Strauss II
- Henrietta Emma "Etty" Darwin
daughter of naturalist Charles Darwin
- Henrietta Lacks
American woman whose cells (HeLa cells) led to many scientific breakthroughs; subject of a book by Rebecca Skloot
- Henrietta Swan Leavitt
American astronomer
- Henrietta Szold
American Zionist leader; founder of Hadassah
- Henrietta Leaver
Miss America 1935
- Henrietta Onodi
Hungarian Olympic gymnast who has a skill named for her on balance beam
- Henrietta Dugdale
Australian feminist and suffragist
- Henrietta Alexandrine Friederike Wilhelmine
Princess of Nassau,Weilburg, wife of Archduke Charles
- Maria Henrietta (born Maria Enrichetta Carmel)
Princess of Naples and Sicily; daughter of Ferdinand I
- Henrietta Godolphin
2nd Duchess of Marlborough; daughter of John Churchill
- Henrietta "Harriet" Pelham
Holles, Duchess of Newcastle,upon,Tyne, wife of British PM Thomas Pelham,Holles; daughter of Henrietta Godolphin
- Henrietta FitzJames Butler
Viscountess Galmoye, daughter of Britain's James II and Arabella Churchill
- Benedicta Henrietta Philippina
Princess of the Palatinate; Duchess of Brunswick,Lüneburg
- Maria Henrietta Caroline Gabriele
Archduchess of Austria
- Isabella Henrietta Ingrid Margrethe (b. 2007)
Princess of Denmark, daughter of Crown Prince Frederik
Henrietta in pop culture
- Henrietta "H"
character in the film "Imagine Me & You"
- Henrietta Biggle
character in the TV series "South Park"
- Henrietta "Hetty" King
character on TV's "Road to Avonlea"
- Henrietta "Hetty" Lange
character on "NCIS: Los Angeles"
- Henrietta "Etta" Bishop
character on TV's "Fringe"
- Henrietta Musgrove
character in "Persuasion" by Jane Austen
- Henrietta "Henny
" character in Sydney Taylor's "All,of,a,Kind Family"
- Henrietta Pussycat
character on "Mister Rogers Neighborhood"
- Henrietta "Hettie" Hubble
character on "The New Worst Witch"
- Henrietta Lowell
in film "A New Leaf"
- Henrietta Vanderpreen
character on "Bear in the Big Blue House"
- Henrietta Beak
chicken character in comic strip "Pluggers"
- Henrietta
song by The Fratellis
- Henrietta "Hetty" Woodlawn
in the "Caddie Woodlawn" by Carol Ryrie Brink.
- Henrietta Von Marzipan
character on "Codename: Kids Next Door"
- Henrietta "Etta" Spencer
character in book "Passenger"
- Henrietta
small town in "The Raven Cycle" series
- Henrietta
a little girl turned assasin in the Manga and Anime "Gunslinger Girl"
- Henrietta "Hen" Wilson
Character on ABC's "9-1-1"
Variations & nicknames
- RikaDutch
- HeinrickaGerman
- HenkaPolish
- HenrietteFrench
- HarrietteFrench
- HenrietaPolish
- EnrikaGerman
- RikeGerman
- RikkaFinnish
- JetjeDutch
- HenrikaSwedish
- HendrikaDutch
- EnricaSpanish
More nicknames
- Henny
- Etta
- Hank