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Harry

boy name
Origin
English
Syllables
2
Peak era
1890s/1910s
Today
▬ Steady

Torn between Harry and another name? Compare them side by side →

Meaning

medieval pet form of Henry, home ruler (Germanic); immortalized by both "Dirty" Harry Callahan in Dirty Harry (1971) and Harry Potter in the Harry Potter film series (2001-2011)

Immortalized by both "Dirty" Harry Callahan in Dirty Harry (1971) and Harry Potter in the Harry Potter film series (2001-2011). Famously borne by Harry Kane.

The story

Harry began as the everyday medieval English way of saying Henry, the name kings answered to in the street, which is why Shakespeare's Henry V rallies his soldiers as Harry; the Germanic root behind it means home ruler. The movies then handed it two immortal bearers at opposite ends of the moral spectrum: Clint Eastwood's flinty Inspector Harry Callahan in Dirty Harry in 1971, and the boy wizard Harry Potter, whose eight films from 2001 to 2011 endeared the name to an entire generation. The American chart tells its own dry story. Harry was enormous around 1900, one of the standard names of that era, then slid gently for half a century and has held perfectly level ever since, apparently immune to both the revolver and the wand. Few names can claim this much fame and this much composure at once.

More names with stories →

The formal names behind Harry

Harry is an established short form of each of these names.

Henry · Germanic origin · from Germanic Heimirich, "home ruler," through French Henri

Harold · Germanic origin · army ruler

Harrison · English origin · "son of Harry," which made it "son of Henry" at one remove; a surname carried by two US presidents, it joined the first-name ranks in the 1980s and kept the vintage warmth of Harry inside a suit-and-tie surname

Why we verify every short-form relationship →

Harry's name family

One shared root links 10 names across 2 languages.

Shared root: from Germanic Heimirich "home ruler", smoothed through French Henri; Harry was its everyday medieval English voice

The constellation

HarryEnglish · related formHenryEnglishEnriqueSpanish

More branches

HankEnglish · diminutiveHenriettaEnglish · feminine formHarrietEnglish · feminine formHarriettEnglish · variantHattieEnglish · diminutiveHallieEnglish · diminutiveHarrisonEnglish · surname form

Ways to honor Henry →

How popular is Harry around the world?

In the United States, 2,061 babies were named Harry between 2020 and 2025. In South Australia, 71 boys were registered as Harry in 2017.

Harry is on the official records of the United States, South Australia, Ireland, England and Wales, Scotland, New Zealand, New South Wales, France, Canada, Chile, Mexico City, Austria, Poland, Brazil, Spain and Argentina.

United States

1 in 11,000

In the United States, 2,061 babies were named Harry between 2020 and 2025.

peak 1890s2020s

Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Harry peaked in the 1890s and the 1910s in nearly equal measure.

Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration

See the full list for the United States →

South Australia

1 in 260 · 2017

In South Australia, 71 boys were registered as Harry in 2017.

1944peak 2012

share of that year’s name registrations

Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names

See the full list for South Australia →

Ireland

1 in 300

In Ireland, 183 boys named Harry were born in 2025, the 25th most common name among boys that year.

1964peak 2012

share of that year’s name registrations

Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names

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England and Wales

1 in 340

In England and Wales, 1,718 boys named Harry were born in 2025, the 19th most common name among boys that year.

1996peak 20112025

share of that year’s name registrations

Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales

See the full list for England and Wales →

Scotland

1 in 370

In Scotland, 124 boys named Harry were registered in 2024, the 31st most common name among boys that year.

1974peak 2011

share of that year’s name registrations

Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names

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New Zealand

1 in 770

In New Zealand, 75 boys named Harry were registered in 2025.

peak 19012025

share of that year’s name registrations

First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time

See the full list for New Zealand →

New South Wales

#39 · 2025

In New South Wales, 163 boys named Harry were registered in 2025, ranked 39th in that year’s top 100 for boys.

1990peak 2018

share of that year’s top-100 registrations

New South Wales (not all of Australia) publishes only each year’s 100 most popular names per sex, so a missing year means below that top 100, not rare. Source: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, popular baby names

See the full list for New South Wales →

France

1 in 4,300

In France, about 150 boys named Harry were born in 2025, the 341st most common name among boys that year.

1900peak 2023

share of that year’s births on record

Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)

See the full list for France →

Canada

1 in 5,100

In Canada, 72 boys named Harry were born in 2024, the 431st most common name among boys that year.

1991peak 2020

share of that year’s name registrations

First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)

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Chile

1 in 25,000

In Chile, 7 boys were registered as Harry in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.

1920peak 19742021

share of that year’s name registrations

First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021

See the full list for Chile →

Mexico City City

1 in 29,000

In Mexico City, there were 4 registrations of Harry in 2022.

2000peak 2022

share of that year’s registrations in the city

Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023

See the full list for Mexico City →

Austria

1 in 38,000

In Austria, 2 boys named Harry were born in 2025, ranked 1,241st among boys that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
The count never rose above 6 in a year, too few to chart.

Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)

See the full list for Austria →

Poland

1 in 120,000

In Poland, 2 boys named Harry were born in 2025, the 705th most common name among boys that year.

2000peak 2019

share of that year’s name registrations

First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)

See the full list for Poland →

Brazil

1 in 140,000

At the 2022 census, 1,441 people in Brazil were named Harry, ranked 6,442nd, with a median age of 33.
Among people named Harry living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2010s than in any other decade.

1930speak 2010s

people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth

The census also counted 226 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022

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Spain

1 in 150,000

In Spain, 306 residents are named Harry, ranked 3,311th among men, with a mean age of 41.3 years.

Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025

See the full list for Spain →

Argentina

1 in 220,000

In Argentina, 3 newborns were given the name Harry in 2024.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.

Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024

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Montevideo City

last on record 2004

Harry is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.

Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial

See the full list for Montevideo →

Norway

last on record 2019

Harry is not on the 2025 record for Norway, where names carried by fewer than 4 people in a year are withheld at source.

peak 19452025

share of the boys on the register for that year, SSB’s own figure

People who have or have had a Norwegian ID number, emigrants left out, from Statistics Norway’s name statistics (release of January 2026): by year of birth for 1945–2020 (everyone born that year who was ever registered in Norway, including people who registered later and people who have since died) and by year of naming from 2021; only first names carried by 200 or more living people are listed, counts under 4 are withheld, and SSB merges spellings that differ only by letters outside the Norwegian alphabet. The shares are SSB’s own, of the people of that sex and year in that count; the 2025 figure counts the children named that year, and no year is a count of births. Source: Statistics Norway (SSB), table 10467 (updated 2026-01-28)

See the full list for Norway →

Puerto Rico

last on record 2018

Harry is not on the 2025 record for Puerto Rico, which withholds births under 5, and 234 babies have carried the name there since 1998.

peak 19992025

share of that year’s births on record

First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)

See the full list for Puerto Rico →

All records: the most popular baby names around the world →

When you meet Harry

People given the name Harry in the United States span the generations: the middle half were born anywhere from 1940 to 1989. Age is the one thing the name won't tell you.

Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.

Names that fit alongside Harry

Jack Jay Jim Ned Dee Chet

Keep exploring

Iconic movie character names · Names of soccer legends · What is Harry short for?

Name trails: explore connections from Harry →

The Harry deep dive

Written for you · $1.99 →

Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Harry truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Harry fits with your family’s names and surname.

Both reports, explained →

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