Herschel
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Meaning
traditionally 'deer'; a beloved old-world heirloom name
How popular is Herschel around the world?
In the United States, 181 babies were named Herschel between 2020 and 2025.
Herschel is on the official records of the United States.
United States
1 in 120,000
In the United States, 181 babies were named Herschel between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Herschel peaked in the 1890s and the 1930s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Canada
last on record 2022
Herschel is not on the 2024 record for Canada, where names under 5 in a year are excluded at source.
The count never rose above 7 in a year, too few to chart.
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
Montevideo City
last on record 1966
Herschel is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
Not on the record in Spain, Mexico City, Argentina, Puerto Rico, England and Wales, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the South Australia record for 1944 to 2017: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on the Austria record for 1984 to 2025: Statistik Austria publishes every first name down to a single birth, so this name was not given there in those years (before 2010 the record covers babies with Austrian citizenship only). Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Herschel
People given the name Herschel in the United States span the generations: the middle half were born anywhere from 1940 to 1999. Age is the one thing the name won't tell you.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
The Herschel deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Herschel truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Herschel fits with your family’s names and surname.
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