Henerietta
A feminine name of French origin meaning "home ruler".
Name Census estimates that about 3 living Americans carry the first name Henerietta. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Henerietta today is around 85 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Henerietta births was 1916 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Henerietta. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Henerietta is about 85 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Heneriettas were born before 1951.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Henerietta. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
3
~ 1 in 114,251,446 Americans
Peak year
1916
6 babies that year
Average age
85
years old
1953 SSA rank
#6,007
Tracked since 1916
Popularity
Henerietta: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Henerietta from the 1910s through to the 1950s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 6 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Henerietta by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Henerietta during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Henerietta
The name Henerietta is derived from the French feminine form of the name Henri, which itself is derived from the Germanic name Heimrich. The name Heimrich is composed of the elements "heim" meaning "home" and "ric" meaning "power, ruler." Thus, the name Henerietta can be understood to mean "the powerful woman of the home" or "the ruler of the household."
The name Henerietta first became popular in France and England during the 16th and 17th centuries. It is believed to have been introduced to England by French Protestant refugees fleeing religious persecution. The earliest recorded use of the name Henerietta in England dates back to the late 16th century.
One of the most notable historical figures bearing the name Henerietta was Henrietta Maria of France (1609-1669), the wife of King Charles I of England. Her marriage to the English king helped popularize the name in Britain.
Another famous Henerietta from history was Henrietta Anne of England (1644-1670), the daughter of King Charles I and Henrietta Maria. She was known for her beauty and intelligence and is remembered for her tragic early death at the age of 26.
In the 18th century, Henerietta Louisa Jeffries (1737-1815) was a notable English author and translator. She is best known for her translations of French literary works into English.
In the 19th century, Henerietta Elizabeth Marshall (1867-1941) was a renowned British writer and educator. She is best remembered for her popular historical fiction novels for children, including "Our Island Story" and "Scotland's Story."
Lastly, Henerietta Swan Leavitt (1868-1921) was an American astronomer who made significant contributions to the field of astronomy. She is best known for her work on the period-luminosity relationship of Cepheid variable stars, which allowed astronomers to measure the distances to nearby galaxies.
People
Henerietta + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Henerietta as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with H
Other first names starting with H with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Henerietta: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Henerietta?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Henerietta going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 114,251,446 US residents.
Is Henerietta a common name?
We classify Henerietta as "Very Rare". It ranks above 4.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 16 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Henerietta most popular?
The single biggest year for Henerietta was 1916, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Henerietta is about 85 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Henerietta in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Henerietta a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Henerietta in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Henerietta still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Henerietta in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Henerietta can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have Henerietta as a first name?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people share the name Henerietta at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.