Henry vs Hensley
American parents have registered 773,564 Henrys since 1880, against 2,217 Hensleys. Henry is still ahead, with 12,040 babies in 2025.
Babies given each name, 1880–2025
Henry Hensley
Each line is every baby given the name that year, girls and boys added together — the only count that means the same thing for both names. A line breaks where the name fell below five babies in a year — the point at which the SSA stops publishing it — rather than being drawn through a figure nobody published. A single published year in a gap shows as a dot.
Who was ahead
Henry has been the commoner name in every year either was published, 1880 to 2025. The lead has never changed hands.
The closest they came was 2020, when Henry had 10,806 and Hensley had 226.
Side by side
| Henry | Hensley | |
|---|---|---|
| Total US births | 773,564 | 2,217 |
| Most in one year | 12,040 | 226 |
| Babies in 2025 | 12,040 | 96 |
| Estimated living today | 385,000 | 2,200 |
| Median age today | 23 | 7 |
| Peak year | 2025 | 2020 |
| Best rank | 5th boys | 1,105th girls |
| Rank in 2025 | 5th | 2,064th |
| First recorded | 1880 | 1916 |
| Girls / boys | 4,619 / 768,945 | 2,038 / 179 |
A rank is a position within one sex’s list for one year, so the two rank rows are not subtracted from one another and the winning column is not marked on them. The living figure is a life-table estimate, not a count.
Which name is older
Half of the Henrys alive today are over 23; half the Hensleys are over 7. That is 16 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.
Where each one is strongest
- Henry Mississippi (2.2×), South Carolina (2.0×), Alabama (1.7×)
- Hensley Tennessee (5.1×), Arkansas (4.4×), Oklahoma (3.5×)
How much commoner the name is in that state than it is nationally, from births recorded since 1910.
Compare something else
Related comparisons
Social Security Administration birth records, 1880–2025, public domain. Full histories: Henry and Hensley.