Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Same Name?!--Henry

Oh, Henry; handsome Henry. His usage may have waned for a few decades, but he's never fallen out of the top 150. With dozens of namesakes, including several royals from a few different nations, it's no surprise that he's spread throughout the Western world, and is always in style.

Original Germanic form: Heimirich (HYE-mih-rikh)
Latinized form: Henricus (HEN-rih-kus)
English form: Henry (HEN-ree)

Other forms:
  • Anraí (AHN-ree)--Irish
  • Arrigo (ahr-REE-goh)--Italian
  • Eanrig (EN-rik)--Scottish
  • Endika (en-dee-kah)--Basque
  • Enric (en-REEK)--Catalan
  • Enrico (en-REE-koh)--Italian
  • Enrique (en-REE-kay)--Spanish
  • Harris (HEHR-ris)--English (via Harry)
  • Harry (HEHR-ree)--Medieval English
  • Heikki (HAYK-kee)--Finnish
  • Heinrich (HINE-rikh)--German
  • Hendrik (HEN-drik)--Dutch
  • Henri (awn-REE)--French

Now to make things a bit tricker, there's the Germanic name Emmerich. It could be derived from Heimirich/Henry, but it could also come from Ermenrich or Amalrich. Most likely, the three similar names all got muddled into one, much like Guy/Vitus in ancient times, or Amelia/Emilia in modern English.
So, because the derivation is less clear, I've listed Emmerich's variants separately. Some linguists hold them equivalent to Henry; some don't.  
  • Amaury (ah-moh-REE)--French
  • Américo (ah-MEH-ree-koh)--Spanish, Portuguese
  • Amerigo (ah-MEHR-ih-goh)--Italian
  • Émeric (aym-REEK)--French
  • Emery (EM-er-ee)--English
  • Imre (EEM-reh)--Hungarian
  • Imrich (IM-rikh)--Slovak

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