Hank
Masculine · “home ruler”
Hank is one syllable that lands like a knock on a door — a nickname that walked off the back of Henry, put down roots in America, and eventually stopped needing the long form at all. Its ancestors go back to the Germanic Heimirich and the Norman Henri, but the clipped, hard-K shape is thoroughly English-speaking and thoroughly at home here.
How old is the name Hank?
Hank first appears in US birth records in 1908 — 117 years ago. The typical Hank alive today was born around 2011, making them about 14 years old. About 15,500 people named Hank are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Hank most popular?
Hank peaked in 2025, reaching #413 nationally. Today it ranks #413, exactly where it peaked. See the whole 2025 chart.
Where it comes from
From Heimirich to Hank
The story of Hank
Henry arrived in England with the Normans as Henri, descended from the Germanic Heimirich, and became one of the most-used royal names in English history. Medieval English speakers were fond of clipping and then re-suffixing their names, which gave forms like Han and Hankin — attached in the records sometimes to John, sometimes to Henry, the two having worn each other's nicknames for centuries. Dutch did something similar and arrived at Henk. Hank surfaced as the American short form of Henry and, unusually for a nickname, made the jump to standing entirely on its own on a birth certificate.
Meaningscholars disagree
'home ruler', through Henry
Taken as a short form of Henry, it carries that name's Germanic elements heim 'home' and ric 'ruler, power'. But there is a second documented road: the medieval English pet name Hankin, built on Han — itself a short form of Johan, John, 'Yahweh is gracious'. Both lines feed the modern Hank, and nobody has to pick one.
How the name formed
- Heimirich
- Henri
- Henry
- Hankin
- Hank
Related forms: Henk · Henry · Henri · Heinrich · Enrique · Enrico
Pronouncing Hank
HANK
One syllable, rhyming with thank. Spelled the way it sounds in English, so it rarely needs repeating. The Dutch cousin Henk sounds different — closer to HENK — and is a separate spelling.
Nicknames for Hank
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1908
- Most boys named
- 2025776 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #413reached in 2025
- Change vs 2023
- +10.9%776 in 2025, from 700
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Hank in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Henk in Dutch — related form
- Henry in English — related form
- Henri in French — related form
- Heinrich in German — related form
- Enrique in Spanish — related form
- Enrico in Italian — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, California, Minnesota.
Hanks among us
people named Hank are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 2,201 born in 2025 was named Hank
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Cullen test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Hank's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Cullen climbed just as high around 2010, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Cullen's path sketches the road Hank is walking now.
Hank sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Hank is headed
Hank should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Hank beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Hank in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- One syllable, four letters, no silent letters or spelling variants to correct over the phone.
- Comes with a ready-made formal option: parents who want a longer name on paper can use Henry and Hank in daily life.
- Sits on a documented line running back through Henry and Henri to the Germanic Heimirich, so it is short without being new.
- Recognizable in English-speaking countries generally, with relatives in Dutch, French, German, Spanish and Italian.
- Uncommon enough that a child is unlikely to share it with a classmate, while everyone already knows the name.
- To some ears Hank still reads as a nickname rather than a full name, which can mean occasional questions about 'what it's short for'. Using Henry on legal documents solves it, at the cost of a small explanation instead.
- It has a strong American, country-and-western texture from a century of use here. That is part of the appeal for many families, but it travels less naturally in places where Henk, Henri or Enrique are the familiar forms.
- Short rhyming words come easily to children — tank, prank, hanky-panky. Most one-syllable names have this, and it usually passes with the grade.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Hank to the vote.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Hank
Masculine · #413 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Hanks are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 15,500 people named Hank are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Hank in 2025?
- Hank ranks #413 among US boy names in 2025, with 776 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Hank?
- About 1 in every 2,201 US boys born in 2025 was named Hank — 776 in all.
- Will my child share the name Hank with classmates?
- Hank will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Hank
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Cayden#414 · Kaysen#415 · Rhys#410 · Eduardo#410 · Koda#410 · Rylan#416 · Hector#409 · Killian#417
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Hank? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Hank and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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