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Hendrik

Masculine · “home ruler”

1917high 2020
#2604 in the U.S.given to only a few children a year
rare50 boys in 2025

Hendrik is the Dutch of Henry — home ruler — and the Germanic haim and ric behind it are among the oldest naming elements there are.

How old is the name Hendrik?

Hendrik first appears in US birth records in 1917 — 108 years ago. The typical Hendrik is a kid of about 10 — this name's wave is very recent. About 1,300 people named Hendrik are estimated to be alive in the US today.

When was the name Hendrik most popular?

Hendrik peaked in 2020, reaching #1778 nationally. Today it ranks #2604, 826 places below that high. See the whole 2020 chart.

Compare this nameMore “H” names

Hendrik appears on this list:

I

Where it comes from

The story of Hendrik

Haim means a home or an estate rather than a house, so a home-ruler governs a holding; the same element gives 'hamlet' and every English place ending in -ham. Hendrik Hudson sailed for the Dutch. The name is standard in Dutch and Afrikaans and appears in American records in current use.

Meaning

home ruler

From the Germanic haim, 'home' or 'estate', and ric, 'ruler' or 'power'. Hendrik is the standard Dutch and Afrikaans form. Eight kings of England and seven emperors carried variants. The elements are documented.

How the name formed

  1. haim ric
  2. Heinrich
  3. Hendrik

Related forms: Hendrik · Heinrich · Henry

Pronouncing Hendrik

HEN-drik

Two syllables, stress on the first. Dutch gives the r a fuller tap.

Nicknames for Hendrik

Moderate

HenkThe standard Dutch short form, widely used
RikThe back of the name, and a name in its own right in Dutch
II

What the data says

The long climb, and where it stands now

BOYS NAMED · 1917–202585430855019172025

US babies named Hendrik per year from 1917 to 2025
AVERAGE RANK BY DECADE#1#10#100#1000#17781910s2020s

The same years in position rather than babies

First recorded
1917
Most boys named
202085 — the highest on record
Peak rank
#1778reached in 2020
Change vs 2024
+4.2%50 in 2025, from 48
Hendrik sits in the rare tail. Its best year on record was 2020, with 85 boys. Today it is given to few enough children that it does not enter the ranked charts at all.

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.

Hendrik in other languages

The same name elsewhere

  • Hendrik in Dutch — same name
  • Heinrich in German — related form
  • Henry in English — related form

Strongest US states over the last decade: Michigan, California, Florida.

Hendriks among us

1,300

people named Hendrik are estimated to be alive in the US today

About 1 boy in 34,162 born in 2025 was named Hendrik

Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method

Spellings of Hendrik

#2604
Hendrik on the 2025 chart
#797
counting every spelling

The SSA counts spellings, not names. Hendrik went to 50 boys in 2025, but Hendrick is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 131, which makes it the 797th most-given boys’ name of the year — 1,807 places above the chart.

About 1 boy in 13,039 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 34,162 for Hendrik itself.

Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method

III

Is it right for you

The Schyler test

Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Hendrik's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Schyler climbed just as high around 1992, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Schyler's path sketches the road Hendrik is walking now.

40%chance Hendrik will feel “very 2020s” by 2040
Hendrik, aligned on its peakSchyler· peak 1992not yet written
#1#10#100#1000peak-40 yrs+30 yrsSchyler · #12022Hendrik today
Hendrik today is about where Schyler stood in 1997 — 5 years past a #1778-sized peak. By 2012, Schyler had settled around #8971.
Ages quietlysteadyDates fast

Hendrik 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 Hendrik is headed

19172030

US babies named Hendrik per year, 1917 to 2025, with a projection to 2030

Hendrik should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.

Steady-12% by 2030projected around #2,943 in 2030

Medium 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.

Hendrik beside its neighbors

The names ranked closest to Hendrik in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.

Hendrikthis name50#2604Yahia50#2604Finlay50#2604Mazin50#2604Rowe50#2604

US boys given each name in 2025.

The trade-off

Practical strengths
  • That every English place ending in -ham carries the same element is a first-rate fact.
  • Henk and Rik are two short forms, both with real use.
  • The home-ruler meaning is transparent and strong.
What to consider
  • Henry is what English speakers will substitute.
  • It reads as specifically Dutch or Afrikaans.
  • Two syllables of hard consonants can be blunt.

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Hendrik

Masculine · #2604 in the U.S.

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Frequently asked

How many Hendriks are there in the world?
No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,300 people named Hendrik are estimated to be alive in the US today.
How do you spell Hendrik?
Hendrik is one of 2 recorded spellings. Hendrick is the more common one — 81 births in 2025 against 50 for Hendrik.
How popular is the name Hendrik in 2025?
Hendrik ranks #2604 among US boy names in 2025, with 50 babies given the name.
How rare is the name Hendrik?
About 1 in every 34,162 US boys born in 2025 was named Hendrik — 50 in all.
Will my child share the name Hendrik with classmates?
Hendrik will almost certainly be the only one in school.

Ranked beside Hendrik

Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.

Yahia#2604 · Finlay#2604 · Mazin#2604 · Rowe#2604 · Dayvon#2604 · Larson#2604 · Kipton#2604 · Kamran#2604

Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Hendrik? See the current top 100.

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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology

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