# Hercules (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/hercules/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | Greek |
| Meaning | “hera”, “year”, “season”, “glory” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈhɝːkjəliːz/, 3 syllables |
| Nicknames | Herc |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 1,320 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 1,320 / 0 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 9, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Latin Herculēs, from Etruscan 𐌇𐌄𐌓𐌂𐌋𐌄 (hercle), from Ancient Greek Ἡρακλῆς (Hēraklês), apparently cognate of Ἥρα (Hḗra, “Hera”) and, according to Haudry, from Proto-Indo-European *yóh₁r̥ (“year, season”) + κλέος (kléos, “glory”). Doublet of Heracles.

## What it means

Hercules is grouped under famous.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 5 | 13,013 |
| 2012 | 6 | 11,302 |
| 2013 | 6 | 11,237 |
| 2014 | 15 | 5,830 |
| 2015 | 17 | 5,372 |
| 2016 | 19 | 5,008 |
| 2017 | 12 | 6,847 |
| 2018 | 25 | 4,135 |
| 2019 | 10 | 7,848 |
| 2020 | 12 | 6,767 |
| 2021 | 21 | 4,685 |
| 2022 | 22 | 4,610 |
| 2023 | 30 | 3,749 |
| 2024 | 13 | 6,602 |
| 2025 | 20 | 4,921 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 3 | 4,747 |
| 2022 | 3 | 4,789 |
| 2023 | 3 | 4,991 |

## People named Hercules

- Hercules Seghers, Dutch painter and engraver (c.1589-c.1638)
- Hércules de Miranda, Brazilian footballer (1912–1982)
- Hercules Robinson, 1st Baron Rosmead, 5th Governor of Hong Kong (1824-1897)
- Elton John, British singer, songwriter and musician (born 1947)
- Brito, Brazilian footballer (1939-2026)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.