Hershel
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Meaning
deer, Yiddish form from German Hirsch
How popular is Hershel around the world?
In the United States, 266 babies were named Hershel between 2020 and 2025.
Hershel is on the official records of the United States and England and Wales.
United States
1 in 82,000
In the United States, 266 babies were named Hershel between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Hershel peaked in the 1910s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
England and Wales
1 in 200,000
In England and Wales, 3 boys named Hershel were born in 2025, ranked 5,137th among boys that year.
The count never rose above 6 in a year, too few to chart.
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Canada
last on record 2019
Hershel is not on the 2024 record for Canada, where names under 5 in a year are excluded at source.
The count never rose above 6 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)
Not on the record in Spain, Mexico City, Argentina, Puerto Rico, 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 Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. 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 Hershel
People given the name Hershel in the United States span the generations: the middle half were born anywhere from 1940 to 2009. 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.
The Hershel deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Hershel 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 Hershel fits with your family’s names and surname.
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