The baby name Henry proves that some choices can be both the height of tradition and the definition of stylish at the same time.
Our Baby Name of the Day comes from this list of classic boy names.
FAMOUS PEOPLE NAMED HENRY
Fictional action hero-archeologist Indiana Jones started out life as Henry Walton Jones.
England’s Prince Harry was baptized Henry, too, with a mouthful of middles. (Charles Albert David, if you’re curious.) British royals have used the name steadily over the years, including eight kings of England, though the last reigning Henry is remembered most for his many wives.
Four more Henrys – wait, make that Henri – ruled as King of France.
Factor in plenty of other European monarchs, as well as a few saints, and this name occurs regularly in the history books.
It appears as a last name, too. Writer O. Henry makes it literary; Patrick Henry makes it revolutionary.
Other influential Henrys include:
- Explorer Henry Hudson
- Businessman Henry Ford (though his antisemitism tarnished the automotive pioneer’s legacy)
- Legendary baseball player Hank Aaron
- Poets, like Longfellow, as well as authors like Henry David Thoreau, Henry Miller, and Henry James
- O. Henry was actually the pen name of William Porter, but Oh Henry! is a candy bar
- Henry Kissinger served as Secretary of State under presidents Nixon and Ford
- Fictional characters galore, including the first name of Dr. Jekyll and My Fair Lady’s Dr. Henry Higgins
- Actors from Oscar-winning Henry Fonda to Happy Days‘ Henry Winkler to Man of Steel Henry Cavill come to mind
Keep digging, and you’ll discover a pirate, a member of the Thomas the Tank Engine universe, a folk hero, an animated monster, and dozens upon dozens more.
HOME RULER
Like many a Germanic name, this one came to England with the Normans.
The French form of the name is Henri; in post-invasion England, it eventually became Harry.
For many years, Harry served as the preferred form in everyday life, even as Latin preserved the name as Henricus. It ranked among the most popular names in the English-speaking world throughout the Middle Ages.
Surnames from Hendrix to Harrison, Hendry to Henson to Hendrik also come from the many forms of the name as it traveled across Europe.
The Germanic original looked more like Heimrich, derived from the elements heim – home – and ric – ruler. It eventually became Heinrich. Other international forms include the French Henri, Italian Enrico, and Spanish Enrique.
ABOUT HENRY VIII
The much-married monarch is familiar to nearly everyone. If not from a long-ago history class, then from pop culture.
Back in the 1960s, Herman’s the Hermits scored a hit with quirky “I’m Henry the VIII, I Am.” They sing it “en-er-ee,” Cockney style. The song dates to 1910, when comedian and music hall star Harry Champion first sang it.
Fast-forward to 2017, and a very different musical spin on the story debuted on stage. Six turned the story of Henry VIII’s wives into a pop concert, with each queen telling her story.
In between, we’ve seen The Tudors, Wolf Hall, The Other Boleyn Girl, and The White Princess on screens big and small, to name just a few.
TRADITIONAL AND TRENDING
Celebrities from Julia Roberts to Heidi Klum to Emily Deschanel chose the name for their sons over the last two decades. It’s climbed from #126 in 2000 to #22 in 2016. It ranks #9 as of 2021.
That’s the kind of climb we sometimes associates with trendy names – think Mason or Jayden.
Except the baby name Henry is among the most traditional names.
It has appeared in the US Top 150 consistently since the data was first collected way back in the 1880s. In fact, Henry ranked #10 in the year 1900 and remained a Top 100 favorite right through the 1960s.
Even if it hasn’t always been favored by parents, it would be tough to call the baby name Henry anything other than a true classic.
Today, given the name’s quick rise along with its status as a go-to for many stylish families, it’s that rare name that feels both timeless and perfectly of the moment.
Related names, like surname Hendrix and international Henrik, are attracting more attention, in part because of Henry’s success.
FORMER AND FUTURE CHART TOPPER
What sparked the name’s revival?
With so many famous figures, it’s tough to pin down the reason this name reversed course. But reverse course it did. After a long stretch as a go-to name for baby boys, it reached an all-time low in the 1970s and early 80s.
Prince Harry gave the name a bump – even in the US – following his 1984 birth. Kenneth Branagh’s Oscar-nominated 1989 adaptation of Henry V seems to have helped, too.
But it seems like the baby name Henry had simply hibernated long enough to feel fresh again. With so many boys called Andrew and Nicholas, Matthew and Daniel, Henry presented a traditional-but-different alternative. Henry rose along with traditional choices like Benjamin and Alexander.
Nickname Hank feels like a friend for Max and Gus, and a few daring parents have even used Huck as an alternative short form.
EVERYBODY LOVES HENRY
Henry feels smart and cool, a name that works for a small boy or a grown man of accomplishment. It feels timeless, as expected in a history book as it is on the playground.
If you don’t mind the possibility that your son will have to share his name with others, Henry feels like an unassailable classic with a serious cool factor.
Would you consider the baby name Henry? Or is it just too popular to make your shortlist?
First published on May 22, 2008, this post was revised and republished on December 3, 2012, September 20, 2017, June 19, 2020, and again on May 18, 2022.
I’m not fond of Henry. I think that might have something to do with my obsession as a child with the “I’m Henery the Eighth, I Am” song [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I%27m_Henery_the_Eighth,_I_Am] — I would sing it over & over with a Cockney accent. But it probably has more do to with the fact that I can’t stand the nickname Harry… :-/
FYI, my maiden name is a form of Henry.
One of the few boys names we had agreed upon is Henry — family name with literary airs for me and for him, a Baseball Hall of Famer. While Peter fits our little guy perfectly, we would of used Henry, if my best friend hadn’t used the name first. 🙂
If by some lucky happenstance we have another son, I’m still partial to Henry, but due to it’s rising popularity I might jump straight up to Harry.
I have to second… Henry just doesn’t appeal to me much. However, the only male figure my OH had as a kid was his Grandpoppa Henry Graham. So I stick Henry in the middle to make him happy (Cosmo Henry).
I’m not a fan but I can clearly see why he’s so popular right now. 😀
I know this is completely heretical in the name nerd community, but I absolutely cannot stand the name Henry. Something about it gets under my skin.
I think you’re in the minority, but that’s fine! There are a few name nerd favorites that I find meh, too. 🙂
I know of eight Henrys born recently, six of whom have a parent who is a librarian or who spent some time working in libraries. I know one other Henry whose mother is also a librarian, but he’s much older so he falls outside the newfound popularity.
There’s also a Henry on the TV show Once Upon a Time who’d be about 11 years old now, making it easier to see the name on a kid.
For those of us who don’t already know young Henrys.
I named my son Henry Everett John 12 years ago, before the boom. At the time I was looking for something like William, but the play grounds were full of little Wills. So Henry it was. I’m a bit irked that it has become so popular, but I love it none the less.
I simply adore Henry and agree entirely with the above comment about it being ‘geek chic’. it is my hypothetic second boys name too! However, Henry has never really gone out of fashion the way it has lattely in the States but always lurked somewhere towards the bottom end of our top 50 – still love love love it though!
For us, Henry is definitely a contender if baby #2 is a boy. It’s a popular choice, but I just love it. And fortunately, we’re not the Harts or Hunts. 🙂
I love Hugo, too, but it’s a family name on my BiL’s side, so I’ve agreed to keep my mitts off that name. Hector, hmmm … that’s a thought.
I love Henry! It’s so geek chic, and I do love me some Indiana Jones. It was very high on my list, but my sister in law’s abusive baby daddy is Henry, so it’s completely off limits. Plus, H names sound awful with our last name. So, there won’t be any Hugo Huffs or Hector Huffs in this generation. 🙁