Hendrik
A German name built from the roots for "home ruler". Only about 158 men in Poland carry it, and newborns almost never get it now: most Poles have never met one.
Hendrik Pronunciation
Hendrik is pronounced KHEND-reek (/ˈxɛndrik/).
What Hendrik means
Where Hendrik comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Hendrik grows from Germanic soil, from the old compound Haimirich: haim, meaning home, and rīc, meaning ruler. Together they give the name its sense, home ruler, władca domu in Polish. The German line runs through Heinrich, the form worn by German kings and Holy Roman emperors.
A rīc once held real power. He commanded land and the people on it. Hendrik set that command inside the walls of a house, over its order and its household. The reading has softened across the centuries, and now it leans closer to responsibility than to rule.
Hendrik has no nickname. On a Polish class register it stands apart from the Jakubs and Szymons, a German guest with clear papers. It keeps its shape with no diminutive and no softened variant. The name still says what it first said: home ruler, władca domu.
How many people are named Hendrik
1 in 135102 men in Poland is named Hendrik. 158 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #2568 among male names.
Hendrik's popularity over time
Fewer than 2 boys were given the name in 2025. It has been stable for a decade.
Hendrik as a middle name
Hendrik is a first name for 158 men in Poland and a middle name for another 118, a 57/43 split, almost evenly. In the men's middle-name ranking it sits 641st, between Adolfo (118) and Kaan (118).
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#639 Ładysław119
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#640 Adolfo118
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#641 Hendrik118
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#642 Kaan118
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#643 Keith118