Hendrix
A Dutch and German surname that began as a patronymic, meaning “descendant of Heinrich/Heinrichs,” i.e. Henry.
The #991 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 8,773 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Hendrix is a patronymic surname formed from the personal name Heinrich, the German equivalent of Henry. The ending -x reflects a regional short form meaning roughly “son of” or “belonging to,” so the name originally pointed to someone as the child or descendant of a man named Heinrich. In older records it appears alongside related forms such as Hendrichs and Hinrichs.
History
The name is especially associated with Dutch and Low German naming traditions, and it appears in historical surname lists from the Rhine and adjacent regions. In English-speaking countries it is now best known through later immigration and the spread of Dutch- and German-derived family names. The modern spelling Hendrix is also familiar from the famous musician Jimi Hendrix, whose surname helped make the name widely recognizable.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The spelling with -x is a good clue to a Dutch or Low German background, where that letter often marks a shortened possessive or patronymic ending.
From the historical record
“ifd^/Äenrt(;^(MtLhlheinrich). Locken- hinnerk. Gen. Heinrichs; Hein- derichs — Hendrichs; Hendrix (Kempen) — Hinrichs; Hinderks (ostfries.). (Latinis. Heinriei — Henrici). Patr. A. Heinricher (Cilli). Patr. Zss. Heinrichsen (Zss. Oerd- heinrichsen) — Hinriehsen; Hin-”
— Die deutschen Familiennamen