Henry

Did you know?

A few things about Henry you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Henry

Henry David Thoreau

American essayist, poet, and philosopher (1817–1862)

Choose Henry and your child shares a first name with Henry David Thoreau, an American essayist, poet, and philosopher. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Henry, like who?” Henry David Thoreau's Wikipedia article is available in 145 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Henry David Thoreau on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: B. D. Maxham, Public domain (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 142 baby boys born in the US in 2025 was named Henry, 12,020 babies in all. In a school of 500 kids, you'd expect to meet about 2 Henrys.
• 📜HistoryHenry has been in use since at least 1880, the first year US birth records were kept. That's 145 years of Henrys, and counting.
• 🏆Best yearHenry is at its all-time high right now: #5 in 2025.
• 📈Then vs nowHenry is 4.4× more common today than it was in 2000. In 2000 it was given to about 1 in 628 baby boys; in 2025, about 1 in 142.
• 📍Where it's lovedHenry is the #2 boy name in 4 states, including Minnesota, Montana and North Dakota. It makes the top 1,000 in almost every state.
• 💬MeaningIn Germanic, Henry means “ruler of the home”. Our records link it to American and English roots.
• 🌍OriginHenry is the most popular American boy name in the US. That's out of 2,145 American boy and unisex names in our list.

About the name Henry

Henry is a boy name of American and English origin meaning “ruler of the home”. It has 5 letters and 2 syllables, starting with H and ending in “-nry”. US birth records list Henry for boys from 1880 to 2025, in 146 of those 146 years. Its best year was 2025, when it ranked #5 among boy names. In 2025 it ranked #5, with 12,020 babies.

Origin:American namesEnglish names