Enrique is a masculine given name of Spanish origin. It is derived from the Old German personal name Heinrich, which is composed of the elements "heim" meaning "home" and "ric" meaning "powerful." Therefore, Enrique means "ruler of the home."
The name Enrique has a long history in Spain and Latin America. In medieval Spain, it was borne by several prominent figures, including Enrique II of Castile (1334-1379) and his son Enrique III of Castile (1379-1406). The name also gained popularity among the Spanish nobility during this period.
In Latin America, Enrique has been a popular choice for boys' names since the colonial era. It was often given to children in honor of prominent historical figures like Enrique de Gibraltar, a 15th-century Spanish explorer who played an important role in the conquest of the Canary Islands.
Today, Enrique remains a common name in Spain and Latin America. It is also sometimes used as a shortened form of the compound name Enrique José or Enrique Antonio. Some well-known individuals with this name include Enrique Iglesias, a popular Spanish singer-songwriter, and Enrique Peñalosa, a Colombian urban planner and politician.
The statistics provided show the annual number of births with the name Enrique in the United States from 1937 to 2003. Over this period, there were a total of 260 babies named Enrique.
From 1937 to 1959, there were only two years with more than one birth of an Enrique (1959 and 1960). However, from 1969 onwards, the number of births with this name began to increase steadily. The highest number of Enriques born in a single year was 15, which occurred in 1987.
After reaching its peak in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the popularity of the name Enrique started to decline. There were fewer than five births per year from 2000 onwards.
Despite the fluctuations in popularity over time, the name Enrique has maintained a consistent presence in the United States over the course of these seven decades.