'Harry' is typically a familiar form of another name, usually 'Harold' or 'Henry' (or very rarely 'Harcourt'). Most of these names are of French origin, but 'Harold' can be traced to Old English Hereweald ('army leader') and is therefore perhaps the most likely origin of Harry Goatleaf's name. It should be noted that abbreviated names in the Common Speech do not always map onto their modern equivalents (to take a notable example, 'Sam' is short for 'Samwise', not 'Samuel'), so we cannot dismiss the possibility that 'Harry' was the short form of a name used among the Bree-men, but now long forgotten.