Henry is an English male given name and surname derived from Old French Henri/Henry, itself derived from the Middle High German name Heinrich, from Old High German Haimirich (from haim- "home" and rich "ruler"), which was conflated with the name Haginrich (from hagin "enclosure" and rich "ruler").
The Old High German name is recorded from the 8th century, in the variants Haimirich, Haimerich, Heimerich, Hemirih. Harry, its English short form, was considered the "spoken form" of Henry in medieval England. Most English kings named Henry were called Harry. The name became so popular in England that the phrase "Tom, Dick, and Harry" began to be used to refer to men in general. The common English feminine forms of the name are Harriet and Henrietta.
Henry has been a consistently popular name in English-speaking countries for centuries. It was among the top 100 most popular names used for boys born in the United States, England and Wales, and in Australia in 2007. It was the 46th most common name for boys and men in the United States in the 1990 census. Harry, its short form, was the fifth most popular name for boys in England and Wales in 2007 and among the top 50 names in Ireland, Scotland and Northern Ireland in recent years. Harry was ranked as the 578th most popular name in the United States in 2007.
In the High Middle Ages, the German name was Latinized as Henricus. It was a royal name in Germany, France and England throughout the high medieval period (Henry I of Germany, Henry I of England, Henry I of France) and widely used as a given name; as a consequence, many regional variants developed in the languages of Western and Central Europe:
Within German, Low German and Franconian, numerous diminutives and abbreviated forms exist, including Low German, Dutch and Frisian Heike, Heiko; Dutch Hein, Heintje; Low German Hinrich, High German Heiner, Heinz. The High German diphthong was lost in Low German and Dutch Hendrik (hypocoristics Henk, Hennie, Rik), Scandinavian Henrik (whence Henning).
Other languages under the influence of German (as the main language of the Holy Roman Empire) during the medieval period: Polish Henryk, Czech Jindřich, Hynek. Hungarian, Slovene, Croatian Henrik Finnish Henrikki (hypocoristic Heikki), Lithuanian Henrikas, Lithuanian Herkus.
The French form Henri became productive in the British Isles, in Middle English adopted as Harry , Herry. Herry was adopted into Welsh as Perry. in Irish as Annraoi, Anraí, Einrí, in Scottish as Eanraig, Eanruig.
In Southern Europe variants without the initial /h/ include Italian Arrigo, Enrico, Catalan Enric and Spanish Enrique (whence Basque Endika), and from the German variant Heinz Italian Enzo
Henri (French), Enrique (Spanish), Henrique (Portuguese), (nickname), (Scandinavian), Henryk (Polish), Jindřich (Czech), Heinz (German), Hendrik (Dutch), Heinrich (German), Henrich (Slovak), Enrico (Italian), Enzo (Italian)
A separate variant, which may originate with the Old High German name Haimirich, but possibly conflated with the names Ermenrich (first element ermen "whole") or Amalric (first element amal "vigour, bravery") is Emmerich. Emmerich is the origin of a separate suit of variant names used across Western and Central Europe, although these never rose to the ubiquity of the variants of Henry; they include English Emery Amery, Emory, French Émeric, Hungarian Imre, Imrus, Slovak Imrich, Italian Amerigo and Iberian (Portuguese, Spanish, Galician) Américo, etc.
Several variants of Heinrich have given name to derived feminine given names; Low German Henrik, Hendrik gave rise to Henrike, Hendrike, Hendrikje, Hendrina, Henrika etc. Low German Heiko to Heike Italian Enrico gave rise to Enrica ( Enrika, Enriqua) Spanish Enriquo to Enriqueta, Enriquetta, Enriquette. French Henri gave rise to Henriette, Henrietta, further modified to Enrieta, Enrietta English Harry to Harriet, Harriett, Harrietta, Harriette, hypocorisms Hattie, Hatty, Hettie, Etta, Ettie; various other hypocorisms include Hena, Henna, Henah, Heni, Henia, Henny, Henya, Henka, Dutch Jet, Jetta, Jette, Ina; Polish Henryka, Henia, Heniusia, Henka, Henryczka, Henryka, Henrysia, Rysia. The hypocorisms Rika, Rike (etc.) may be from this or other names with the second element -ric. Spanish and Portuguese América from the Emmerich variant Amérigo .
Harrison (surname), Henson (surname), Harris (surname), Heaney (Irish surname), Heinz (German surname), Hendrick (surname), Hendricks (surname), Hendrickx, Hendrik (given name), Hendriks, Hendrikx, Hendrix (surname), Hendryx.
MedievalHenry the Fowler (876–936), first German KingHenry, Bishop of Uppsala (died 1150), Bishop of Uppsala. He became a martyr in FinlandHenry of Coquet (died 1127), a hermit Dane and Catholic saint. He lived on the island of Coquet, off Northumberland, England.Henry I the Bearded (ca. 1165/70 – 19 March 1238), High Duke of PolandHenry de Audley (1175–1246), English baronHenry of Livonia (born 1180), Catholic priest. Author of Chronicle of Henry of Livonia one of the earliest histories of the Eastern BalticHenry the Navigator (1394–1460), responsible for the early development of European exploration and maritime trade with other continents.Early modernHenry Harcourt (Jesuit) (1612–1673), English JesuitHenry Every (born c. 1653), British pirate. Made one of the richest plunders in sea history and then retired and vanishedHenry Purcell (1659–95), English composerHenry Clay (1777–1852), American/Kentucky statesman. A presidential candidate, compromiser, pacifier, War Hawk and founder of the Whig PartyHenry Roxby Beverley (1790–1863), English actorHenry Parker Sartwell (1792–1867), American botanistModernHenry Francis Bryan (1865–1944), 17th Governor of American SamoaHenry Aaron (born 1934), American baseball player.Henry Allingham (1896–2009), briefly world's oldest manHenry Bethard (born 1924), American lawyer and former state legislatorHenry G. Brinton (born 1960), American author and pastor. Contributor to the Washington Post, USA Today, and author of a few booksHenry Cárdenas (born 1965), Colombian road cyclistHenry Cavill (born 1983), British actorHenry Collins (boxer) (born 1977), Australian boxerHenry Cooper (boxer) (1934–2011), British boxer. Was the British, European and Commonwealth heavyweight champion in 1970Henry Duhamel (1853–1917), French mountaineer, author and skiing pioneerHenry Flagler (1830–1913), American tycoon, real estate promoter, railroad developer, known as the father of Miama, FloridaHenry Fonda (1905–1982), American actor. Acted in 115 films, with another 73 as himself and 16 Broadway showsHenry Ford (1863–1947), American industrialist; father of the modern assembly line, Ford Motor Company and 161 patentsHank Greenberg (1911–1986), American Hall of Fame baseball player. A premier power hitter and one of the first Jewish superstars in American pro sportsHenry Harcourt (1873–1933), British politicianHenry Hathaway (1898–1985), American film directorHenry Hudson (born c. 1560s/70s), English sea explorerHenry Hynoski (born 1988), American football playerHenry Hynoski, Sr. (born 1953), American football playerHenry James (1843–1916), American authorHenry Kelly (born 1946), Irish television presenter and radio DJHenry Kissinger (born 1923), German-born American politicianHenry Louis Larsen (1890–1962), United States Marine Corps general; Governor of American Samoa and Governor of GuamHenry Lau (born 1989), Chinese singer, dancer and violinist in the Chinese boy band Super Junior-MHenry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–82), American poetHenry Mancini (1924–94), American composerHenry Marsh (athlete) (born 1954), American long-distance runnerHenry Menzies (1867–1938), Scottish rugby union playerHenry Miller (1891–1980), American authorHenry Moore (1898-1986), English sculptor and artistHenry Obst (1906–1975), American football playerHenry Orth (1866–1946), American architectHenry Orth (American football) (1897–1980), American football playerHenry Parayre (1879-1970), French sculptorHenry Perera, 8th Commander of the Sri Lanka NavyHenry Bertram Price, Governor of GuamHenry Rollins (born 1961), American singerHenry Schichtle (born 1941), American football playerHenry Speight (born 1988), Australian rugby union playerHenry Surtees (1991–2009), British racing driverHenry Sugut (born 1985), Kenyan long-distance runnerHenry David Thoreau (1817–62), American authorPrince Harry (born 1984; formally Prince Henry of Wales), British prince and military officerHenry Winkler (born 1945), American actor and producerHenry, the main protagonist of the 2015 film Hardcore HenryHenry, a persona or character from John Berryman's Dream SongsHenry the Green Engine, a steam locomotive from The Railway Series of books by Reverend W. AwdryHenry Gupta, character from the James Bond film Tomorrow Never DiesHenry Huggins, a character created by Beverly ClearyHenry Higgins, a major character in George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion and also in the musical adaptation My Fair LadyHenry Hugglemonster, a character from Henry HugglemonsterHenry Jekyll, title character in the Robert Louis Stevenson novelThe Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. HydeDr. Henry Walton Jones, Jr. (Indiana Jones), the title character and the protagonist of the Indiana Jones franchiseHorrid Henry, the main character from the series Horrid HenryHenry Keddys, minor character in Chris Lilley's mockumentary series Angry BoysHenry, a character from the 2008 video game No More HeroesHenry J. Waternoose, a character from Monsters, Inc.Henry Bennett, the main character in American author Mark Twain's 1889 novel titled A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.Henry, a character from the television show, KaBlam!Henry (comic), a comic character that began in 1932Henry Pym (aka Ant Man, Giant Man, Goliath, and Yellowjacket), fictional character in the Marvel UniverseHenry Rearden, steelmaker from the Ayn Rand book Atlas ShruggedHenry Baker, a character from the 2003 film Cheaper by the Dozen and its sequelHenry Townshend, the main protagonist in the game Silent Hill 4Uncle Henry, character from the Oz books by L. Frank BaumHenry and Orville, the second pair of ghosts that Luigi encounters in Luigi's Mansion, and, since counted as one ghost, they are the 14th ghost Luigi encountersHorrid Henry, fictional character and children' comedy TV showHenry Deacon, fictional character from the TV series EurekaHenry Mills, a primary character from the TV series Once Upon a TimeHenry I, other character from the TV series Once Upon a TimeHenry "Hank" MacDougall (played by Fred Willard), the pious father-in-law of Robert Barone, from the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond.Henry F. Potter the main villain from It's A Wonderful LifeLord Henry Wotton from The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde is referred to as "Harry".Henery Hawk, Warner Bros. Looney Tunes character.Henry Clerval from Frankenstein by Mary ShelleyHenry "Hank" Zipzer, from the TV series Hank ZipzerHenry the Octopus, a character from The WigglesDr. Henry McCord from the TV series Madam Secretary (TV series)
