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 [ 2 syll. he-nry, hen-ry ] The boy name Henry is pronounced as HHEHNRiy KEY. Henry is an English name of Germanic origin. The name is of the meaning house owner, lord of the manor. Two-element name derived from the elements 'heim' meaning home, homeland ; 'ric' meaning rich, powerful, ruler. Heimerich (Germanic) and Heimrich (Germanic) are older forms of Henry. The name was borne by numerous princes and kings in continental Europe; six kings of France were named Henri, and four kings of Castile and Leon also bore the name. In Germany, the name was known from Henry the Fowler (876-936), the first king of the medieval German state. The name was introduced by the Normans to England in the form of Henri during the medieval period. It became a popular name among English royalty and was borne by eight subsequent kings, the first being Henry I (1133-1189), the youngest son of William the Conqueror, and the last being the notorious Henry VIII (1491-1547). In Shakespeare's Henry IV (1597), the youthful Prince Henry is variously called Harry or nicknamed Hal, reflecting the popular use of the name Harry in medieval England. The name Harry is today still more popular in England, while Henry is more popular in America. The name Henrietta (English and German) is the female version of Henry. Henry is a widely used name; it has 76 variants that are used in both English and other languages. Variants of Henry used in English include Hagan (used in German as well), Hawkins, Hendrik (used in Dutch, Estonian, German, and Scandinavian as well), Hendry, Henri (used in Finnish, French, and Slavic as well), and Rik (used in Dutch as well). The pet forms Hal, Hank, and Harry are other English variants. Foreign variants of Henry include Anraí (Irish), Anraoi (Irish), Anrique (Spanish), Arrigo (Italian), Bambis (Greek), Eanraig (Scottish), Einrí (Irish), Endika (Basque), Endrik (German), Enri (Irish), Enric (Romanian and Catalan), Enrico (Italian), Enriko (German), Enrikos (Greek), Enrique (Spanish), Enriquillo (Spanish), Enzio (Italian), Éinrí (Irish), Haiko (German), Hanale (Hawaiian), Hanraoi (Irish), Haralpos (Greek), Heike (Dutch), Heikki (Finnish), Heine (German), Heiner (German), Heinrich (German), Hendrick (German), Hendricus (Dutch), Heneli (Hawaiian), Heniek (Polish), Henier (Polish), Henk (Dutch), Henner (German), Henric (Romanian), Henrick (German and Scandinavian), Henrico (Spanish), Henrik (Finnish, German, Hungarian, Scandinavian, and Slavic), Henrikas (Lithuanian), Henrikki (Finnish), Henriko (Spanish), Henrim (Slavic), Henrique (Portuguese), Henryk (Polish), Hersz (Yiddish), Hinrich (Czech and German), Hinrik (German and Scandinavian), Honok (Polish), Imre (Hungarian), Inriques (Spanish), Jindra (Czech), Jindrich (Czech), Khambis (Greek), Kharlambos (Greek), Kiko (Spanish), Lambos (Greek), Quico (Spanish), Quinto (Spanish and Italian), Ricco (Italian), Rico (Spanish and Italian), Riki (Estonian), and Riko (German). Specific foreign variants include the pet forms Heiko (German), Heino (German), Heinz (German), Henning (German and Scandinavian), and Quique (Spanish). See also the related forms, Amerigo (Italian) and Andrin (German and Rhaeto-Romanic). Henry is a classic favorite. Today it is still popular as a baby name for boys, though to a lesser extent than it was previously, and it is also considered trendy. At the height of its usage in 1902, 1.622% of baby boys were given the name Henry. Its ranking then was #10. The baby name has since markedly fallen in popularity. In 2008, its usage was 0.265% and its ranking #78, appearing with somewhat increasing regularity in the recent decade. Within all boy names in its group, Henry was the most popular. In 2008, Henry was more frequently used than the next most popular name, Enrique (Spanish), by 5 times. Henry has predominantly been a boy name, though in the past century it has also been used for girls. In 1942, boys named Henry outnumbered girls by 119 times. Baby names that sound like Henry include Henri (English, Finnish, French, and Slavic), Heiner (German), Henner (German), Homer (English), Hanraoi (Irish), Henier (Polish), and Homero (Spanish). Details of famous persons named Henry: KEY: Pronunciation for Henry: HH as in "he (HH.IY)" ; EH as in "Ed (EH.D)" ; N as in "knee (N.IY)" ; R as in "read (R.IY.D)" ; IY as in "eat (IY.T)"   |
