Herschell
Masculine · “a little deer”
Herschell is a Yiddish name meaning a little deer, and it belongs to a system that paired every Hebrew name with an animal in the everyday language. A man called Zvi in the synagogue was Hirsh in the street, because the Hebrew word means a deer and so does the Yiddish one — and the two names traveled together for centuries.
How old is the name Herschell?
Herschell first appears in US birth records in 1897 — 128 years ago. The typical Herschell alive today was born around 1933, making them about 92 years old. About 300 people named Herschell are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Herschell most popular?
Herschell peaked in 1897, reaching #1057 nationally. See the whole 1897 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From a Germanic word for a deer, borrowed into Yiddish to Herschell
The story of Herschell
The other Herschel was a musician who became an astronomer by accident. William Herschel came to England as an oboist, taught music for a living, ground his own mirrors because he could not afford to buy telescopes, and in 1781 found an object that moved against the stars — the first planet discovered since antiquity, which doubled the known size of the solar system at a stroke. He wanted to name it after the king. Everyone else wanted a classical name, and everyone else won, which is why we do not have a planet called George.
Meaning
a little deer
Yiddish speakers carried two names: a Hebrew one for religious purposes and a vernacular one for daily life, and the pairs were fixed by translation or by association. Zvi and Hirsh both mean deer. Dov and Ber both mean bear. Ze'ev and Wolf both mean wolf. Aryeh and Leib both mean lion. The system meant that a family could keep a Hebrew name in the record and an ordinary Germanic-sounding one in the market, and both were the man's real name.
How the name formed
- a Germanic word for a deer, borrowed into Yiddish
- paired with the Hebrew name meaning the same thing
- Herschel established as a Jewish given name and surname
- an astronomer makes it famous in the 1780s
- used in American records from the 1890s
Related forms: Hirsh · Zvi · Hirschel
Pronouncing Herschell
HUR-shul
Two syllables, stress at the front. The doubled l is an American addition; the standard spelling has one, and neither is audible.
Nicknames for Herschell
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1897
- Most boys named
- 192433 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1057reached in 1897
- Change vs 1988
- −16.7%5 in 1997, from 6
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Herschell in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Hirsh in Yiddish — related form
- Zvi in Hebrew — related form
- Hirschel in German — spelling variant
Herschells among us
people named Herschell are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Herschell sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- It carries a specific and well-documented Jewish naming tradition in one word.
- The meaning is concrete and pleasant, which is not true of every old name.
- It has a serious namesake in the history of science who is not overexposed.
- The doubled l is unusual and will be corrected on most documents.
- In America the sound is very close to a chocolate company, and children will notice.
- It is firmly of the early twentieth century and has had no revival.
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Herschell
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Herschells are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 300 people named Herschell are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Herschell in 2025?
- Herschell is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Herschell with classmates?
- Herschell will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More H names
The most-given names starting with H, all years combined.
Henry#5 · Harold#991 · Harry#775 · Howard#1002 · Hunter#130 · Herbert#2641 · Herman#2363 · Harvey#251
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Herschell? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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