Henry is a short form of Heinrich and means “home ruler.”
What is the origin of the name Henry?
The name Henry is an English short form of the German name Heinrich, that originally derived from the Saxon Heimerich or the Old German Haganrich.
What does the name Henry mean?
Henry means “home ruler” in Old High German.
Word composition
Old High German “hagan” = enclosure
Old High German “heim” = home
Old High German “rihhi” = powerful, rich, mighty, ruler
Other variants of Henry
Henri is a French variant of Henry. Henry can also be spelled Henrie, however, it is an uncommon variant. Other versions of Henry or Heinrich are the Dutch and Low German variant Hendrik, the Italian forms Enrico, Enzio, Enzo and Arrigo, the Spanish variant Enrique or the Slavic form Jendrik.
Nicknames for Henry
Popular nicknames for Henry are Harry, Hen, Henny and Ry.
King Henry VIII (1491 - 1547) known as Henry Tudor as well, is mostly known for his six marriages. He had two of his wives beheaded. Many TV shows and movies were made about his marriages and his daughters Queen Mary I and Queen Elizabeth I.
Henry Ford (1863 - 1947) is known as the founder of “Ford Motor Company”. He was a pioneer in the field of automation. He was also a known writer of antisemitic texts and supporter of the Nazi regime in Germany.
Former German-American Republican politician and former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Alfred Kissinger (born 1923) won the Nobel Peace Prize for his peace efforts during the Vietnam war. However, he stands accused of being responsible for several war crimes during that time.
British Actor Henry William Dalgliesh Cavill (born 1983) is mostly known for his roles as “Superman”, “The Witcher” and “Sherlock Homes”. He has a Japanese Akita, whom he named after Superman’s birth name, Kal-El. He rarely posts about his relationship with his girlfriend Natalie Viscuso on social media.
The former Malaysian TV host Henry Golding (born 1987) rose to fame after starring in the movie “Crazy Rich Asians”. Since 2016, he is married to LivLo, in 2021 their daughter Lyla Golding was born.
Fictional characters named Henry
Henry Hart, played by Jace Norman, is the protagonist in the Nickelodeon show “Harry Danger” (2014 - 2020).
In season eight and nine of “Supernatural”, Henry Winchester, played by Gil McKinney, grandfather of protagonists Dean and Sam Winchester, is introduced. He was a member of the “Men of Letters”, a secret organization fighting the supernatural.
In Stephen King’s “It”, Henry Bowers is a secondary antagonist and is frightening the teenagers in Derry to death.
Based on the frequency of positive ratings, we can analyze how popular names are in different countries. The name Henry is currently ranked #98 on the name leaderboard. It is one of the most popular baby names.
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