Henson
Masculine · “son of Henry”
Henson is an English surname meaning son of Hendry, which is a northern form of Henry — a Germanic compound about ruling a household.
How old is the name Henson?
Henson first appears in US birth records in 1916 — 109 years ago. The typical Henson is a kid of about 11 — this name's wave is very recent. About 500 people named Henson are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Henson most popular?
Henson peaked in 1934, reaching #2742 nationally. Today it ranks #4139, 1,397 places below that high. See the whole 1934 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Heinrich to Henson
The story of Henson
Henry was one of the great medieval English royal names — eight kings — and produced a family of surnames including Harris, Harrison, Hendry and Henson. Matthew Henson reached the far north with Peary in 1909 and was for decades denied the credit; Jim Henson made puppets that changed children's television. Its use as a given name is recent and follows the surname fashion.
Meaning
son of Henry
From Germanic haim, a home, and ric, a ruler, giving Heinrich and English Henry; northern English used Hendry, and the patronymic gives Henson. A separate reading takes it from Hen, a pet form of Henry, plus -son.
How the name formed
- Heinrich
- Henry
- Hendry
- Henson
Related forms: Henderson · Heinrich · Henry
Pronouncing Henson
HEN-sun
Two syllables, first stressed. There is no variation in English.
Nicknames for Henson
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
- 1916
- Most boys named
- 201533 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2742reached in 1934
- Change vs 2024
- +31.6%25 in 2025, from 19
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.
Henson in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Henderson in English — related form
- Heinrich in German — related form
- Henry in English — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas.
Hensons among us
people named Henson are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 68,323 born in 2025 was named Henson
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 Olvin test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Henson's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Olvin climbed just as high around 1917, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Olvin's path sketches the road Henson is walking now.
Henson 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 Henson is headed
Henson should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind. Its history is short or jumpy, though, so read this as a sketch rather than a promise.
Low 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.
Henson beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Henson in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A settled Germanic meaning inherited from one of the great royal names.
- Read correctly on sight by every English speaker.
- Two genuinely admirable modern bearers of the surname.
- It reads as a surname to people meeting it in front of another one.
- The Hen clip is an ordinary English noun and children will use it.
- Henson and Henderson are close and get confused.
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What they receive
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Henson
Masculine · #4139 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Hensons are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 500 people named Henson are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Henson in 2025?
- Henson ranks #4139 among US boy names in 2025, with 25 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Henson?
- About 1 in every 68,323 US boys born in 2025 was named Henson — 25 in all.
- Will my child share the name Henson with classmates?
- Henson will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Henson
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Mose#4139 · Lucious#4139 · Karsten#4139 · Nikita#4139 · Hasani#4139 · Jomar#4139 · Fionn#4139 · Earnest#4139
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Henson? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Henson and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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