# Herman (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/herman/  
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 | English |
| Meaning | “army”, “man” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈhɝmən/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | Hermie |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 136,772 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 135,977 / 795 (1% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 21, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Old English here (“army”) + man (“man”) It was revived in the 19th century, partly due to American immigrants from continental Europe where the name has been more popular. Compare the German equivalent Hermann.

## What it means

Herman is grouped under warrior.

## 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, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 11 | 4,005 |
| 1961 | 8 | 5,040 |
| 1964 | 9 | 4,747 |
| 1965 | 9 | 4,618 |
| 1966 | 6 | 6,066 |
| 1967 | 9 | 4,744 |
| 1968 | 11 | 4,304 |
| 1969 | 9 | 5,182 |
| 1970 | 7 | 6,585 |
| 1971 | 8 | 6,213 |
| 1975 | 8 | 6,729 |
| 1976 | 5 | 9,810 |
| 1977 | 7 | 7,816 |
| 1978 | 5 | 10,309 |
| 1980 | 6 | 9,497 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 89 | 1,680 |
| 2012 | 65 | 2,096 |
| 2013 | 80 | 1,801 |
| 2014 | 73 | 1,968 |
| 2015 | 91 | 1,708 |
| 2016 | 83 | 1,819 |
| 2017 | 56 | 2,329 |
| 2018 | 64 | 2,179 |
| 2019 | 73 | 2,007 |
| 2020 | 56 | 2,375 |
| 2021 | 46 | 2,748 |
| 2022 | 51 | 2,630 |
| 2023 | 60 | 2,330 |
| 2024 | 50 | 2,648 |
| 2025 | 58 | 2,368 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 4 | 2,357 |
| 1998 | 3 | 2,901 |
| 2009 | 4 | 3,744 |
| 2010 | 3 | 4,678 |
| 2014 | 4 | 3,895 |
| 2018 | 3 | 4,749 |

## In other languages

- Chinese: 赫爾曼 /赫尔曼
- Czech: Heřman
- Danish: Herman
- Dutch: Herman
- Finnish: Hermanni
- French: Armand
- German: Hermann
- Greek: Αρμάνδος
- Hungarian: Herman, Armand
- Icelandic: Hermann, Ármann
- Italian: Ermanno, Armando
- Latin: Arminius
- Latvian: Hermanis
- Norwegian: Herman
- Polish: Herman, Armin
- Portuguese: Armando, Hermano
- Russian: Ге́рман
- Spanish: Armando
- Swedish: Herman
- Ukrainian: Ге́рман

## People named Herman

- Herman Melville, American writer and poet (1819–1891)
- Herman Van Rompuy, Belgian politician; former Prime Minister of Belgium and first permanent President of the 
- Herman Hollerith, American statistician and inventor（1860-1929）
- Herman Boerhaave, Dutch botanist, chemist, humanist, and physician (1668–1738)
- Herman Wouk, American writer (1915-2019)
- Herman Cain, American businessman (1945–2020)
- Władysław I Herman, Duke of Poland (1043-1102)
- Hermann Sudermann, German dramatist and novelist (1857–1928)
- Herman Li, British guitarist
- Herman Bang, Danish writer (1857-1912)
- Herman Kahn, American futurist noted for his views on nature of thermonuclear war (1922–1983)
- Herman J. Mankiewicz, American screenwriter (1897-1953)

## 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.