Henry or Harry?
Miniature of Henry V, 1412.
Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons
It is traditional for someone named Henry to be called Harry. I had an uncle Harry and so did my husband, but both of those men had officially been named Henry.
In the Middle Ages, the Norman French name Henri became popular after the Norman Conquest of 1066 to 1071. The English, unable to pronounce it correctly, adapted it to Herry or Harry, and it has become customary for it to be a diminutive or affectionate form of Henry. It was popular as a Royal name in Germany, France, and England, and was adopted by other European countries, such as Poland, which claimed Henry as Henryk, or Lithuania which had Herkus. In Wales, it became Perry, and in Ireland it was Annraoi.
The name lent itself to surnames, too, like Harrison, Henson, Heinz, and Henriques.
It was common to create female forms of the name, like Henrietta, or Enrica, or Heike, while Harry gave rise to Harriet, or diminutives like Hatty, or Hetty, Hena, or Jetta.
The meaning of the name Henry or Harry is ‘home ruler’ and the same applies to the female form.
