“Said to be named after Lady Henrietta, daughter of the First Marquis of Donegall” (Patton 1993, p.182). She was born in 1765 and died an infant the following year.
Because of the 50-year gap between her life and the first record of the street, there is a little uncertainty about this. There was another Lady Henrietta Chichester, born even earlier. She was one of the three daughters of the 3rd Earl of Donegall who perished in the great fire at Belfast Castle in 1708. However, given that she died along with two sisters called Jane and Frances, neither of whom are remembered in a street-name, it seems unlikely that Henrietta Street is named after her.
Therefore, the link proposed by Marcus Patton with the later Henrietta seems to be reliable. She had siblings named Charlotte, Arthur, Elizabeth and Amelia (as well as George, who became the 2nd Marquess), all of whom may have been honoured with a street-name, which tends to support this proposal. It is possible that these commemorative names were planned after the death of the 1st Marquess in 1799, which would largely account for the long gap.
Henrietta Street is first recorded on Mason's map of Belfast (1815).
Dual language street sign (English and Irish) approved in April 2025.