Henry: meaning and UK use

What does Henry mean?

Henry comes from the Germanic name Heimirich, combining elements for home and ruler. Harry and Hal are recorded related short forms.

Language or name family covered

Germanic name family

Meaning or derivation

Home ruler

Our browsing group

boy; classic

Browsing groups describe our editorial shortlist, not rules about who may use a name. A name can cross languages and genders.

Sources for this entry — reviewed 2026-10-07:

• Behind the Name — Henry

Pronunciation and related forms

HEN-ree (English)

English respellings are approximate; IPA is labelled where used. Follow the pronunciation a person or family chooses, and check it with a speaker of the intended language if that connection matters to you.

Related forms recorded in the reference: Harry, Hal. These may be full forms, diminutives or forms in another language; they are not necessarily pronounced alike or counted together in statistics.

How popular is Henry?

In 2025, 2,295 baby boys in England and Wales were registered as Henry, making it the 13th most popular boys’ name. That is up 1 place on 2024, when it ranked 14th. It has held a similar position for a decade (13th in 2015). Its best year in the ONS series was 2023, at 10th. These figures cover England and Wales, not the whole UK.

2025 rank (boys)

13th

2025 registrations

2,295

Best rank in this series

10th (2023)

Every year from 1996 to 2025

Henry: rank and number of baby boys by year (ONS)

Year	Rank	Babies
2025	13	2,295
2024	14	2,360
2023	10	2,490
2022	13	2,624
2021	10	2,912
2020	11	2,868
2019	12	3,012
2018	13	3,172
2017	13	3,246
2016	15	3,527
2015	13	3,581
2014	15	3,572
2013	18	3,248
2012	24	2,928
2011	28	2,625
2010	34	2,239
2009	37	2,143
2008	38	2,003
2007	35	1,867
2006	39	1,798
2005	44	1,595
2004	48	1,469
2003	53	1,159
2002	51	1,242
2001	53	1,196
2000	52	1,322
1999	51	1,359
1998	56	1,244
1997	58	1,241
1996	58	1,135

The sum of published counts in this 1996–2025 boys series is 67,472. This is a lower bound where years are suppressed, not the number of living people with the name. A best rank is the best position within this series; it does not establish an all-time record.

Sources: ONS release, 2025; girls' dataset; boys' dataset. Our 20 top-ten positions were checked against Table 1 in the 2025 workbooks. The history chart and spelling comparisons come from the separate ONS 1996–2025 workbook, checked 7 October 2026. Spelling variants are separate entries. Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate statistics.

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Names to compare with Henry

These suggestions share a browsing group and one or more of our style tags or source-context labels. They are taste comparisons, not etymological relatives or a popularity ranking.

• Hugoclassic · An old German form of Hugh
• Arjunclassic · A modern form of Arjuna
• Arthurclassic · Meaning unknown
• Calebclassic · Meaning uncertain
• Eliasclassic · A form of Elijah
• Felixclassic · Lucky or successful

Read the UK naming guide for the difference between inspiration lists and official statistics, or return to the full name finder.

Registering or changing the name

Once you decide on Henry, confirm the registration process for your UK nation with the register office. If you later want to change a registered name, the route depends on the circumstances and may require consent from people with parental responsibility.

Start with GOV.UK birth registration or GOV.UK guidance on changing a child’s name. Our registration guide and child name-change guide explain where to find the relevant official process.