Enrique

Meaning of Enrique

Enrique, the suave Spanish cousin of stalwart Henry, traces its lineage back to the Old High-German Heimrich—“home ruler”—a title that once echoed through drafty European halls and has since found surprisingly comfortable lodgings in American suburbia. The name drapes itself in Iberian velvet: it summons images of 15th-century conquistadors plotting new worlds, late-night guitar riffs drifting across Madrid cafés, and, yes, the pop refrains of Mr. Iglesias that many a millennial can hum on command. In the United States, Enrique has marched along the Social Security charts with quiet consistency; rarely flashy, it has hovered between the low 200s and high 500s for more than a century, suggesting a dependable appeal that outlasts trend-of-the-week monikers. Phonetically rendered as en-REE-kay, the three crisp syllables roll off the tongue like a short Mediterranean holiday—spirited yet refreshingly straightforward. For parents seeking a name that marries courtly gravitas with a hint of beach-side rhythm, Enrique offers an artful compromise: classical enough to wear a graduate-school mortarboard, but lively enough to headline the reception playlist. In short, it is a name that rules its domestic realm with charm rather than decree—exactly as its etymology foretold.

Pronunciation

Spanish

• Pronunced as en-REE-kay (/ɛnˈri.ke/)

• Enrico