Herschel
Herschel was given to 34 boys in 2025, #3,398 among boys’ names; 10,674 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 3,370 Americans named Herschel and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (32% of everyone recorded); the median is 61 years old and half are between 38 and 75.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Herschel by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Herschel mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Herschel is “a male given name.”
(Uranus): after its discoverer, William Herschel.
/ˈhɝʃl̩/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Herschel?
#3,398 among boys’ names, 2025
Herschel rose from #3,919 in 2015 to #3,398 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born rose from 14.1 to 19.9 per million.
277 babies in 1921, the peak
Herschel peaked in 1921, when 277 boys were given it, #361 among boys’ names. The 34 births of 2025 are 12% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 34 | #3,398 | 0.02 |
| 2024 | 20 | #4,942 | 0.01 |
| 2023 | 28 | #3,928 | 0.02 |
| 2022 | 23 | #4,476 | 0.01 |
| 2021 | 38 | #3,142 | 0.02 |
| 2020 | 38 | #3,040 | 0.02 |
| 2019 | 33 | #3,443 | 0.02 |
| 2018 | 24 | #4,275 | 0.01 |
| 2017 | 22 | #4,516 | 0.01 |
| 2016 | 28 | #3,815 | 0.01 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 27 | #3,919 | 0.01 |
| 2014 | 15 | #5,827 | 0.01 |
| 2013 | 16 | #5,484 | 0.01 |
| 2012 | 20 | #4,759 | 0.01 |
| 2011 | 9 | #8,307 | under 0.01 |
| 2010 | 10 | #7,782 | 0.01 |
| 2009 | 14 | #6,219 | 0.01 |
| 2008 | 12 | #6,899 | 0.01 |
| 2007 | 11 | #7,277 | 0.01 |
| 2006 | 26 | #3,825 | 0.01 |
| 2005 | 8 | #8,571 | under 0.01 |
| 2004 | 11 | #6,697 | 0.01 |
| 2003 | 17 | #4,676 | 0.01 |
| 2002 | 9 | #7,250 | under 0.01 |
| 2001 | 17 | #4,559 | 0.01 |
| 2000 | 19 | #4,106 | 0.01 |
| 1999 | 26 | #3,133 | 0.01 |
| 1998 | 20 | #3,628 | 0.01 |
| 1997 | 19 | #3,648 | 0.01 |
| 1996 | 16 | #4,072 | 0.01 |
| 1995 | 24 | #2,953 | 0.01 |
| 1994 | 19 | #3,504 | 0.01 |
| 1993 | 28 | #2,600 | 0.01 |
| 1992 | 33 | #2,268 | 0.02 |
| 1991 | 30 | #2,358 | 0.01 |
| 1990 | 47 | #1,707 | 0.02 |
| 1989 | 40 | #1,866 | 0.02 |
| 1988 | 47 | #1,558 | 0.02 |
| 1987 | 40 | #1,691 | 0.02 |
| 1986 | 46 | #1,479 | 0.02 |
| 1985 | 28 | #2,037 | 0.02 |
| 1984 | 31 | #1,810 | 0.02 |
| 1983 | 56 | #1,227 | 0.03 |
| 1982 | 54 | #1,265 | 0.03 |
| 1981 | 30 | #1,872 | 0.02 |
| 1980 | 30 | #1,878 | 0.02 |
| 1979 | 28 | #1,921 | 0.02 |
| 1978 | 26 | #1,937 | 0.02 |
| 1977 | 30 | #1,759 | 0.02 |
| 1976 | 35 | #1,549 | 0.02 |
| 1975 | 33 | #1,569 | 0.02 |
| 1974 | 35 | #1,485 | 0.02 |
| 1973 | 32 | #1,526 | 0.02 |
| 1972 | 56 | #1,089 | 0.03 |
| 1971 | 54 | #1,116 | 0.03 |
| 1970 | 47 | #1,211 | 0.03 |
| 1969 | 58 | #1,013 | 0.03 |
| 1968 | 45 | #1,123 | 0.03 |
| 1967 | 52 | #1,010 | 0.03 |
| 1966 | 45 | #1,105 | 0.03 |
| 1965 | 53 | #1,013 | 0.03 |
| 1964 | 55 | #1,021 | 0.03 |
| 1963 | 64 | #939 | 0.03 |
| 1962 | 81 | #842 | 0.04 |
| 1961 | 72 | #907 | 0.03 |
| 1960 | 66 | #932 | 0.03 |
| 1959 | 81 | #838 | 0.04 |
| 1958 | 95 | #761 | 0.04 |
| 1957 | 98 | #759 | 0.05 |
| 1956 | 87 | #798 | 0.04 |
| 1955 | 118 | #672 | 0.06 |
| 1954 | 91 | #748 | 0.04 |
| 1953 | 106 | #694 | 0.05 |
| 1952 | 99 | #704 | 0.05 |
| 1951 | 121 | #644 | 0.06 |
| 1950 | 116 | #644 | 0.06 |
| 1949 | 125 | #607 | 0.07 |
| 1948 | 134 | #576 | 0.08 |
| 1947 | 137 | #579 | 0.07 |
| 1946 | 137 | #546 | 0.08 |
| 1945 | 119 | #550 | 0.09 |
| 1944 | 142 | #510 | 0.10 |
| 1943 | 103 | #624 | 0.07 |
| 1942 | 131 | #533 | 0.09 |
| 1941 | 135 | #507 | 0.11 |
| 1940 | 133 | #503 | 0.11 |
| 1939 | 140 | #486 | 0.13 |
| 1938 | 153 | #468 | 0.14 |
| 1937 | 132 | #501 | 0.12 |
| 1936 | 128 | #500 | 0.12 |
| 1935 | 148 | #467 | 0.14 |
| 1934 | 133 | #497 | 0.13 |
| 1933 | 141 | #474 | 0.14 |
| 1932 | 154 | #463 | 0.15 |
| 1931 | 176 | #429 | 0.17 |
| 1930 | 171 | #456 | 0.16 |
| 1929 | 178 | #445 | 0.17 |
| 1928 | 211 | #414 | 0.19 |
| 1927 | 204 | #425 | 0.18 |
| 1926 | 208 | #420 | 0.19 |
| 1925 | 208 | #415 | 0.19 |
| 1924 | 246 | #382 | 0.22 |
| 1923 | 240 | #383 | 0.22 |
| 1922 | 242 | #388 | 0.22 |
| 1921 | 277 | #361 | 0.25 |
| 1920 | 244 | #382 | 0.23 |
| 1919 | 234 | #379 | 0.24 |
| 1918 | 257 | #365 | 0.25 |
| 1917 | 230 | #368 | 0.25 |
| 1916 | 231 | #354 | 0.26 |
| 1915 | 226 | #356 | 0.27 |
| 1914 | 155 | #381 | 0.24 |
| 1913 | 137 | #354 | 0.27 |
| 1912 | 136 | #318 | 0.32 |
| 1911 | 48 | #416 | 0.21 |
| 1910 | 47 | #377 | 0.24 |
| 1909 | 39 | #393 | 0.24 |
| 1908 | 32 | #424 | 0.21 |
| 1907 | 40 | #343 | 0.27 |
| 1906 | 32 | #382 | 0.24 |
| 1905 | 44 | #304 | 0.33 |
| 1904 | 25 | #421 | 0.20 |
| 1903 | 39 | #302 | 0.33 |
| 1902 | 33 | #344 | 0.27 |
| 1901 | 38 | #281 | 0.36 |
| 1900 | 37 | #363 | 0.25 |
| 1899 | 27 | #348 | 0.25 |
| 1898 | 38 | #310 | 0.31 |
| 1897 | 32 | #327 | 0.28 |
| 1896 | 29 | #360 | 0.24 |
| 1895 | 23 | #402 | 0.20 |
| 1894 | 24 | #381 | 0.21 |
| 1893 | 28 | #336 | 0.25 |
| 1892 | 23 | #399 | 0.19 |
| 1891 | 19 | #403 | 0.19 |
| 1890 | 19 | #419 | 0.17 |
| 1889 | 19 | #423 | 0.17 |
| 1888 | 26 | #364 | 0.22 |
| 1887 | 18 | #398 | 0.18 |
| 1886 | 19 | #409 | 0.17 |
| 1885 | 10 | #620 | 0.09 |
| 1884 | 21 | #390 | 0.18 |
| 1883 | 9 | #663 | 0.09 |
| 1882 | 9 | #671 | 0.08 |
| 1881 | 8 | #673 | 0.08 |
| 1880 | 11 | #587 | 0.10 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Herschel a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Herschel has been recorded only for boys: SSA lists no girls with the name in 146 years of records (it lists a name only in years with 5 or more babies of a sex).
Girls and boys named Herschel: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Herschel, and how old are they?
3,370 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 32% of the 10,674 Americans ever recorded as Herschel. The median Herschel alive today is 61 years old; half are between 38 and 75.
The 2020 Census counted 3,728 people named Herschel (35 women and girls, 3,693 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 3,858 born in the U.S. The Census count is 3% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 463 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 1,200 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 577 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 539 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 244 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 343 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Herschel born?
The states with the most babies named Herschel are Indiana, Texas and Illinois, with 35% of its births recorded by state since 1910; Indiana is not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indiana | 742 | not ranked | 2.9× |
| Texas | 704 | #2,385 | 1.2× |
| Illinois | 692 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| Georgia | 679 | not ranked | 2.3× |
| Missouri | 522 | not ranked | 1.9× |
| Kentucky | 481 | not ranked | 2.1× |
| Tennessee | 448 | not ranked | 1.9× |
| Ohio | 394 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| Alabama | 313 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| Arkansas | 258 | not ranked | 1.7× |
Where Herschel is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Herschel is most over-represented in Indiana: since 1910 it was given 2.9 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Herschel with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 2 names spelled alike, given to 11,733 babies since 1880, Herschel is the most given (91% of them). In 2025 it was given to 34 of their 34 babies (100%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Herschel
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Herschel and names like it
- Compare Herschel and HerschellBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1920sHerschel peaked in 1921.
- Indiana’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Herschel since 1910.
- The top names of 1921The year the most babies were named Herschel.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Herschel alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with HMost given first.