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Henry

Meaning, origin and pronunciation, with published usage by place and year.

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Meaning

Home ruler, through the Germanic home and king elements.

Henry and Heinrich share the documented Germanic name ancestry. The Heinrich entry explains the older elements as home and a name element originally meaning king; the licensed household-rule account is consistent with that interpretation.

Origin

Germanic, through Old French and Anglo-Norman

The given-name entry traces Middle English Henry through Old French and Anglo-Norman Henri to Frankish and Germanic forms. The unrelated electrical-unit and other senses are excluded.

English pronunciation

/ˈhɛn.ɹi/; /ˈhɪn.ɹi/

The second reading is listed for English accents with the pin-pen merger, including some Southern US and Appalachian varieties.

Recorded English reading, as published. Accents and preferred pronunciations can differ.

Published name usage

Counts apply only to the exact spelling, place, year and recorded usage shown. Places are separate; these figures are never added into a worldwide total. Missing or suppressed records never mean zero.

Latest published record available for this spelling in each place and recorded usage
PlaceYearRecorded usagePublished birthsRankNotes
Canada2025Boys1,064 · preliminary112025 figures are preliminary. Quebec counts below five are randomly imputed by the publisher before national aggregation. Accents are removed in the source; this profile was matched only where the catalog spelling was unambiguous. Unpublished values are unknown, not zero. Rank basis: source published.
France1933Girls5 (rounded to 5)1232Counts are rounded to the nearest multiple of five. Ranks use unrounded publisher counts with randomly ordered ties; equally rounded counts can have different ranks. National coverage excludes Mayotte before 2012. Missing years are unavailable, not zero. Automated direction labels are withheld for this rounded-count series. Rank basis: source published.
France2025Boys90 (rounded to 5)500Counts are rounded to the nearest multiple of five. Ranks use unrounded publisher counts with randomly ordered ties; equally rounded counts can have different ranks. National coverage excludes Mayotte before 2012. Missing years are unavailable, not zero. Automated direction labels are withheld for this rounded-count series. Rank basis: source published.
England & Wales2025Boys2,29513Source-reported counts; unpublished names are not zero. Rank basis: source published.
Northern Ireland2025Boys6424Source-reported counts; unpublished names are not zero. Rank basis: source published.
Scotland2025Boys6088Source-reported counts; unpublished names are not zero. Rank basis: source published.
Ireland2025Boys7876Names below three occurrences are unpublished. Accent recording changed in 2018; comparisons across that boundary may not describe the same spelling coverage. Counts refer to registrations in the year. Missing years are unavailable, not zero. Rank basis: source published.
United States2025Girls205917Source-reported counts; unpublished names are not zero. Rank basis: calculated from published counts.
United States2025Boys12,0205Source-reported counts; unpublished names are not zero. Rank basis: calculated from published counts.

Canada, Ireland and France coverage includes confidently matched existing profiles only; unmatched spellings are awaiting review. French counts are rounded to five.

Sources & notes

Open an entry for its source, credit, licence and full qualifications. Different name traditions remain separate.

Meaning: Home ruler, through the Germanic home and king elements.

Checked against cited source

Henry and Heinrich share the documented Germanic name ancestry. The Heinrich entry explains the older elements as home and a name element originally meaning king; the licensed household-rule account is consistent with that interpretation. Credit: Wiktionary contributors, exact Henry, Heinrich entries. Sources: https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=Henry&oldid=93571082; https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=Heinrich&oldid=93567831. License: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Adaptation: Rare Baby Names summarized the documented name route or language-specific relationship. No source audio, images or quotations reused.

Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.

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This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

CC BY-SA 4.0

Nickname: Hal

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Explicit pet form in the English Henry personal-name entry. This relationship does not merge the names’ popularity counts. Credit: Wiktionary contributors, exact Henry entries. Sources: https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=Henry&oldid=93571082. License: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Adaptation: Rare Baby Names summarized the documented name route or language-specific relationship. No source audio, images or quotations reused.

Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.

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This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

CC BY-SA 4.0

Nickname: Hank

Checked against cited source

Explicit pet form in the English Henry personal-name entry. This relationship does not merge the names’ popularity counts. Credit: Wiktionary contributors, exact Henry entries. Sources: https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=Henry&oldid=93571082. License: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Adaptation: Rare Baby Names summarized the documented name route or language-specific relationship. No source audio, images or quotations reused.

Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.

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This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

CC BY-SA 4.0

Nickname: Harry

Checked against cited source

Explicit pet form in the English Henry personal-name entry. This relationship does not merge the names’ popularity counts. Credit: Wiktionary contributors, exact Henry entries. Sources: https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=Henry&oldid=93571082. License: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Adaptation: Rare Baby Names summarized the documented name route or language-specific relationship. No source audio, images or quotations reused.

Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.

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This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

CC BY-SA 4.0

Origin: Germanic, through Old French and Anglo-Norman

Checked against cited source

The given-name entry traces Middle English Henry through Old French and Anglo-Norman Henri to Frankish and Germanic forms. The unrelated electrical-unit and other senses are excluded.

Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.

View original source

This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

CC BY-SA 4.0

English pronunciation: /ˈhɛn.ɹi/; /ˈhɪn.ɹi/

Checked against cited source

The second reading is listed for English accents with the pin-pen merger, including some Southern US and Appalachian varieties.

Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.

View original source

This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

CC BY-SA 4.0

country_CA

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country_FR

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country_IE

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Source: NISRA : Website: www.nisra.gov.uk

Attribution: Source: NISRA : Website: www.nisra.gov.uk

License: Open Government Licence v3.0

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(C) Crown copyright. Data supplied by National Records of Scotland.

Attribution: (C) Crown copyright. Data supplied by National Records of Scotland.

License: Open Government Licence v3.0

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Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence

Attribution: Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence

License: Open Government Licence v3.0

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U.S. Social Security Administration

Attribution: U.S. Social Security Administration

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Statistics Canada, Table 17-10-0147-01, 1991–2025, released 23 September 2026.

Credit: Statistics Canada, Table 17-10-0147-01, 1991–2025, released 23 September 2026.

License: Statistics Canada Open Licence

Adaptation: Adapted from Statistics Canada, First names at birth by sex at birth, selected indicators, Table 17-10-0147-01, reference years 1991–2025. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.

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Central Statistics Office, Ireland, VSA50 and VSA60, updated 27 February 2026.

Credit: Central Statistics Office, Ireland, VSA50 and VSA60, updated 27 February 2026.

License: CC BY 4.0

Adaptation: Adapted by Rare Baby Names: joined the published count and rank indicators and matched unambiguous existing spellings. Source values retained.

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Source : Insee, Fichier des prénoms, updated 16 July 2026.

Credit: Source : Insee, Fichier des prénoms, updated 16 July 2026.

License: Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab)

Adaptation: Adapted by Rare Baby Names: column names and sex codes mapped and unique case-only spellings matched to existing profiles. Published rounded counts and ranks retained.

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