Henny
A feminine diminutive of the name Henrietta, of German origin meaning "ruler of the household".
Name Census estimates that about 978 living Americans carry the first name Henny. It is a predominantly female name (94.5% of registrations). The average person named Henny today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Henny births was 2021 (61 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Henny. 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.
People living today
978
~ 1 in 350,465 Americans
Peak year
2021
61 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
1930 SSA rank
#2,977
Tracked since 1921
Gender
Gender distribution for Henny
Henny leans heavily female at 94.5% of total registrations, but 58 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Henny as a male name
- Ranked #4,243 in 1930
- 5 male births in 1930
- Peak: 1921 (8 births)
Henny as a female name
- Ranked #2,977 in 2024
- 55 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2021 (61 births)
Popularity
Henny: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Henny from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 359 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Henny remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Henny 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 Henny during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Hennys live
Origin
Meaning and history of Henny
The name Henny has its origins in the Germanic language family, derived from the root word "hain" meaning "home" or "homestead." It was initially a diminutive form of the masculine name Henrich or Heinrich, which itself is a combination of the elements "heim" (home) and "ric" (ruler or power).
The earliest recorded instances of the name Henny can be traced back to the Middle Ages in various regions of central and northern Europe, where it was commonly used as a nickname or shortened form of the more formal Heinrich. In some areas, it was also a standalone given name in its own right.
One of the earliest notable individuals to bear the name Henny was Henny Pörnbacher, a 14th-century German nobleman and landowner who lived from around 1320 to 1385. Records from that time show him as a prominent figure in the region now known as Bavaria.
In the 16th century, Henny Hülsmann (1501-1573) was a Dutch merchant and trader who played a significant role in the establishment of trade routes between the Netherlands and the Baltic region. His business dealings and travels were well-documented in historical records of the time.
Moving into the 17th century, Henny van Opstal (1622-1688) was a Dutch painter known for her still-life works depicting flowers and other natural elements. Her paintings can be found in various museums and private collections across Europe.
In the field of literature, Henny Marsman (1899-1942) was a Dutch poet and writer who was part of the avant-garde literary movement in the early 20th century. His works, including collections like "Paradijs" and "Tempel en Kruis," explored themes of modernity, existentialism, and the human condition.
More recently, Henny Youngman (1906-1998) was an American comedian and violinist known for his quick-witted, one-liner jokes. He was a popular performer in vaudeville and on early television, and his signature line "Take my wife, please" became a catchphrase.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who have borne the name Henny, which has its roots in the Germanic languages and has been used across various European cultures for centuries.
People
Henny + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Henny 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
Henny: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Henny?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 978 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Henny 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 350,465 US residents.
Is Henny a common name?
We classify Henny as "Very Rare". It ranks above 90% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,048 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Henny most popular?
The single biggest year for Henny was 2021, when 61 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Henny is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Henny a female name?
Yes, 94.5% of people registered as Henny 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.
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.