A female name. the English form of French Henriette, a f. derivative of Henry (cf. Harry for Henry). Henriette was apparently invented in France in the 16th C and brought to England by Charles I’s Queen, Henriette Marie, the d. of Henri IV, who was usually called Queen Mary in England (e.g. in the liturgy). Her numerous grand-daughterdaughters, however, were usually christened Henrietta (a latinization of Henriette, which became Harriet in speaking). Harriet, or Harriot as it was often spelt, was a very common name in the 18th and early 19th C. It was often abbreviated to Harry or Hatty.

In Teutonic, ‘home-rule,’—which seems to be an ominous name with which to embark upon married life,—Harriet is the f. of Harry (see therefore Harry), but it was probably influenced by French Henriette, for Henrietta is the f. of Henry. (Is there a lost Harrietta?) Since ca. 1870, Harriet, generally as’Arriet, has been generic for a coster-girl: she and’Arry are often depicted and described as a coster couple. Their arms, I suggest, are a lusty male and female form rampant on’Ampstead’Eath.

Teutonic (feminine) - A mighty lord or a hero.