UK boy's name
Henri
A French masculine name of Germanic origin meaning "house ruler".
For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2024. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.
Henri is a boy's name in the UK records. People looking for Henri popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #924, with 34 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2015, with 82 births.
This profile covers 1,356 England and Wales registrations across 29 recorded years from 1996 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales and NISRA Northern Ireland, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.
The latest count is about 41% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 1,350 living people in the UK are called Henri. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2025 or 2026.
Key insights
- • Henri ranked #924 for boys in England and Wales in 2024, with 34 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 2015, when 82 boys were registered as Henri.
- • Henri ranks best in Northern Ireland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #398 in 2013.
- • About 1,350 living people in the UK are estimated to have Henri as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
Latest rank (E&W)
#924
2024
Births in 2024
34
Latest year
Peak year
2015
82 births
Estimated living
1,350
2026
Meaning
What does Henri mean?
The name Henri originates from the French form of the German name Heinrich, which itself derives from the Old German words "heim" meaning home and "ric" meaning power or ruler. It can be traced back to the 11th century in France.
The name gained prominence in medieval France, where it was borne by several French kings, including Henri I (1008-1060), Henri II (1519-1559), and Henri IV (1553-1610), the latter being one of the most celebrated monarchs in French history known for issuing the Edict of Nantes granting religious tolerance.
In the realm of literature, the name appears in works such as the 12th-century epic poem "Perceval, the Story of the Grail" by Chrétien de Troyes, where the character Henri de Laon is mentioned.
Other notable historical figures with the name Henri include Henri de Navarre (1244-1274), a French nobleman and crusader, and Henri Arnault (1718-1784), a French playwright and dramatist.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name can be found in the 11th-century chronicle "Gesta Normannorum Ducum" by William of Jumièges, which mentions a Norman knight named Henri de Ferrières who participated in the Norman conquest of England in 1066.
In the arts, the name has been borne by Henri Matisse (1869-1954), the renowned French painter and sculptor, and Henri Rousseau (1844-1910), the self-taught painter known as "Le Douanier Rousseau."
Other famous Henris throughout history include Henri Becquerel (1852-1908), the French physicist who discovered radioactivity, and Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908-2004), the influential French photographer known for his pioneering work in street photography.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Henri over time
The chart below shows babies named Henri registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 1996 to 2024. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.
For Henri, the clearest high point is 2015. The latest England and Wales figure is 34 births in 2024, compared with 82 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Henri by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Henri was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.
| Decade | Average rank | Total births | Years covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | #761 | 225 | 5 |
| 2010s | #573 | 661 | 10 |
| 2000s | #674 | 366 | 10 |
| 1990s | #651 | 104 | 4 |
Geography
Where Henri is most common
The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Henri. They are useful for spotting where the name is showing up in real numbers, while the rank beside each bar shows how strongly it performs inside that region.
Henri ranks best in Northern Ireland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #398 in 2013.
Across the UK
Henri in Scotland and Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland (NISRA)
#398 in 2013
1 years of NISRA records, 3 total registered
Notable bearers
Famous people named Henri
-
Henri Lansbury
association football player
English association football player (born 1990)
1990-
-
Henri Bortoft
physicist
Physicist and philosopher of science
1938-2012
-
Henri Alleg
screenwriter; writer; politician; journalist; human rights defender; non-fiction writer
French-Algerian journalist (1921–2013)
1921-2013
-
Henri Tajfel
psychologist; sociologist; university teacher
British social psychologist and university teacher of Polish-Jewish origin
1919-1982
-
Henri Kay Henrion
graphic designer; designer
graphic designer from Germany (1914–1990)
1914-1990
-
Henri Temianka
conductor; violinist; television presenter; university teacher
American musician (1906–1992)
1906-1992
-
Henri Dauban de Silhouette
athletics competitor
British athlete
1901-1991
-
Henri van Raalte
printmaker
Australian printmaker (1881–1929)
1881-1929
Related
Names similar to Henri
- Harry 141,693
- Henry 65,177
- Harrison 45,958
- Harvey 35,648
- Harley 22,095
- Hugo 18,779
- Hayden 12,622
- Hunter 10,350
- Hudson 9,104
- Hamza 8,564
- Hassan 5,982
- Hasan 3,599
FAQ
Henri: questions and answers
How popular is the name Henri in the UK right now?
In 2024, Henri was ranked #924 for boys in England and Wales, with 34 births registered.
When was Henri most popular?
The peak year on record was 2015, with 82 babies registered as Henri in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Henri?
A French masculine name of Germanic origin meaning "house ruler".
How many people are called Henri in the UK?
A total of 1,356 babies have been registered as Henri across the 29 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here and 3 in Northern Ireland.
Where is Henri most common?
In the latest published local rankings, Henri ranks best in Northern Ireland, where it placed #398 in 2013. The regional bars on this page use birth counts, so they also reflect the size of each region.
Which records is this page based on?
The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.