Henrietta
Henrietta was the 2666th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 65 babies. Its best year was 1892, when it ranked 105th; the most babies were born in 1918 (1,411). Over the last ten years it has moved up 157 places. More babies were named Henrietta in the 1920s than in any other decade.
Meaning feminine of Henry; "home ruler" · French, Germanic
Say it hen-ree-ET-uh /ˌhɛnriˈɛtə/
- Rank in 2025
- #2,666 girls, down 239 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 65girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 19181,411 babies
- Total since 1880
- 51,387babies recorded
What does the name Henrietta mean?
Henrietta is the Latin-style English form of the French Henriette, a feminine of Henri (Henry). Henry is a Germanic name made of heim, "home", and rīc, "ruler". Henrietta Maria, the French queen of Charles I, brought the name into wide English use in the 17th century. Wikipedia notes that Harriet was the spoken English form of Henrietta, as Harry was of Henry. Henrietta was most common in the US from the 1880s to the 1920s.
heim (Old High German, “home”)rīh (Old High German, “ruler”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Harriet, Henriette, Etta, Hattie, Henry.
See also: Germanic names, names that mean king or queen.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Henrietta', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, ed. S. L. Uckelman, Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Henry', DMNES (Durham University)
- Wikipedia, 'Henrietta (given name)', Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation)
Nicknames for Henrietta
The usual nicknames for Henrietta are Etta, Hattie, Hetty and Nettie. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 girls named Henrietta in the last five years, 1059 were named Hattie, against 920 twenty years earlier. Etta is also gaining on the full name.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Girls, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Etta · also for Julietta, Loretta, Rosetta | Traditional | #930 | 1,372 |
| Hattie · also for Harriet | Traditional | #334 | 3,994 |
| Hetty | Traditional | — | — |
| Nettie · also for Annette, Jeanette, Antoinette | Traditional | #5,663 | 96 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Henriettas go by each one.
Henrietta popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 57 since 1892.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #2,666 | 65 |
| 2020 | #2,427 | 72 |
| 2010 | #5,309 | 26 |
| 2000 | #7,306 | 14 |
| 1990 | #3,099 | 36 |
| 1980 | #2,618 | 36 |
| 1970 | #1,074 | 113 |
| 1960 | #606 | 272 |
| 1950 | #375 | 460 |
| 1940 | #267 | 540 |
| 1930 | #238 | 673 |
| 1920 | #171 | 1,302 |
| 1910 | #153 | 525 |
| 1900 | #130 | 491 |
| 1890 | #110 | 366 |
| 1880 | #106 | 191 |
How popular is Henrietta, counting every spelling?
Henrietta has no other common spelling that sounds the same.
How many kids will share the name Henrietta?
65 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Henrietta (0.02 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Henrietta born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 129 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Henrietta.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Henrietta?
About 11,400 people born in the US named Henrietta are alive today, with a median age of 73; half are between 61 and 81. That makes Henrietta a name most people associate with older generations.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Henrietta by state
How common Henrietta was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. In 41 states fewer than five girls a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Henrietta: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Henrietta, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Henrietta · Sibling names for Henrietta
Questions about the name Henrietta
What does Henrietta mean?
Henrietta means “feminine of Henry; "home ruler"” (French, Germanic origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Henrietta?
Henrietta was the 2666th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 65 babies. Its best year was 1892, when it ranked 105th; the most babies were born in 1918 (1,411). Over the last ten years it has moved up 157 places. More babies were named Henrietta in the 1920s than in any other decade.
Is Henrietta a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Henrietta in the US.
Where is Henrietta most popular?
In 2021–2025, Henrietta was most common in Minnesota (0.15 per 1,000 girls), followed by Washington and Wisconsin.