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When pronounced the French way, Henrietta sounds very lovely. I've never liked Harriet. The "Harry" part stands out too much, I suppose, and sounds more manly to than girly.

Harriet.
Henrietta is too fussy and I don’t like the sounds together.

Henrietta is so long that it would really need a nn, and nothing appeals to me at all. Etta, Rietta, Riette, Henny ... no! And I find the rhythm unattractive; equally long names like Elizabeth and Felicity sound much better to me.

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I love Harriet; not sure why, though I do prefer Harry to Henry. And I don't think it needs a nn, though for a small child I suppose Harry would happen.

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Harriet Clare
Harriet Lucy
Dinah Harriet
Harriet Sarah Louise

Henrietta, as I have few negative personal associations with Harriet.

Harriet. It looks beautiful and I think it looks long but simple at the same time. Henrietta is cute but I prefer Harriet for now. (For Henrietta's pronunciation I prefer English's pronunciation)

Henrietta has much better nicknames. Harriet is just ugly at every syllable so there’s not much to work with.

I prefer Henrietta because it's more dramatic and sophisticated.

Harriet! Hattie and Harry are much cuter nicknames than Hettie and Henry. Also, although they’re both feminised boys names, Harriet sounds more like a name in its own right than Henrietta.

Oh, Henrietta for sure. I find it to be extremely soft and elegant. Harriet on the other hand, comes across as harsh and very much dated. Never been a fan of it.

Harriet has always been ugly to me but Henrietta is a chicken name. I'll go with the chicken name and condense it to Etta if I'm at gunpoint.

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Edit: Forgot about Hattie. I do actually love Hattie and would use it as a legal or maybe short for something else altogether. Team Hattie all the way.

This message was edited 8/13/2022, 9:50 AM

Harriet by far. I like the long A and the simply -et ending far better than the clunky floral Henrietta. I know it's only one syllable difference, but it feels a great deal more.

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Also Hattie is my favorite nickname from within that family and it seems contrived if connected to Henrietta.

Harriet definitely, Henrietta feels overwrought and with one obvious big exception I don’t like -etta names.

Harriet, it sounds better, and it doesn't have the "hen" in it.

I would choose Harriet, personally. I prefer the sound of Harriet to Henrietta. I also find the association with Harriet Tubman powerful.

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Here’s something cool but unrelated: Henrietta reminds me of a horse. In fact, I used to have a hobby horse that I named Henrietta as a young kid.