Harry
Feminine · “ruler of the household”
Harry is given to boys far more often — 423,866 boys against 2,017 girls since 1880. See Harry as a boy name
For several centuries English had a name for the devil and it was this one. Old Harry appears in writing from the sixteenth century onward as a familiar, half-joking way of referring to Satan — the same impulse that produced the Old Gentleman and the Old Lad, naming the thing you would rather not name directly.
How old is the name Harry?
Harry was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Harry alive today was born around 1929, making them about 96 years old. About 600 people named Harry are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Harry most popular?
Harry peaked in 1882, reaching #493 nationally. See the whole 1882 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Henry to Harry
The story of Harry
One president carried it as his legal name and had a middle initial that stood for nothing at all. His parents could not decide which grandfather to honor — the names began with the same letter — so they gave him the letter alone and let both sides believe it was theirs. He was inconsistent about the punctuation for the rest of his life, sometimes writing a full stop after it and sometimes not, which has kept style guides arguing ever since. It is a small and rather charming instance of a family solving a diplomatic problem by refusing to solve it.
Meaning
ruler of the household
The Germanic elements behind the fuller name mean home and ruler. This form is not a shortening in the ordinary sense; it is the older English spoken version of the same name, which the written form eventually separated from.
How the name formed
- Henry
- Harry
Pronouncing Harry
HARR-ee
Two syllables with the stress at the front and a short first vowel. Nothing about the spelling causes any hesitation.
Nicknames for Harry
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
- 1880
- Most girls named
- 192960 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #493reached in 1882
- Change vs 1985
- 0.0%8 in 1988, from 8
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.
Harrys among us
people named Harry are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Harry sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- It has been in continuous English use for the better part of a thousand years.
- It reads as warm and unpretentious in a way the formal version does not.
- The spelling and the sound agree completely.
- It reads as a short form to some ears even when it is the legal name.
- Its peak was very early, which gives the name a period feel for some.
- The record holds girls as well, and the girl is much the smaller side.
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What they receive
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Harry
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Harrys are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 600 people named Harry are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Harry in 2025?
- Harry is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Harry with classmates?
- Harry will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More H names
The most-given names starting with H, all years combined.
Helen#461 · Heather#1261 · Hannah#56 · Hazel#21 · Holly#416 · Hailey#104 · Haley#861 · Heidi#340
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Harry? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Harry and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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