# Herschel (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/herschel/  
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 | not recorded |
| Meaning | not recorded |
| Pronunciation | /ˈhɝʃəl/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 10,674 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 10,674 / 0 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | not in the ONS data |

## Etymology

(Uranus): after its discoverer, William Herschel.

## 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 | 9 | 8,314 |
| 2012 | 20 | 4,764 |
| 2013 | 16 | 5,488 |
| 2014 | 15 | 5,831 |
| 2015 | 27 | 3,921 |
| 2016 | 28 | 3,816 |
| 2017 | 22 | 4,520 |
| 2018 | 24 | 4,279 |
| 2019 | 33 | 3,446 |
| 2020 | 38 | 3,041 |
| 2021 | 38 | 3,143 |
| 2022 | 23 | 4,480 |
| 2023 | 28 | 3,931 |
| 2024 | 20 | 4,946 |
| 2025 | 34 | 3,399 |

## People named Herschel

- Herschel Savage, American pornographic film actor & director (1952–2023)
- Herschel Bernardi, American actor (1923–1986)
- Herschel Walker, American diplomat and former football player (born 1962)
- Herschel Evans, American musician (1909–1939)
- Herschel V. Johnson, American and Confederate politician (1812-1880)
- Herschel Mayall, American actor (1863-1941)
- Herschel Daugherty, American television and film director, actor (1910–1993)
- Walter Herschel Beech, American pioneer aviator; co-founder of Beech Aircraft Company (1891-1950)
- Herschel Burke Gilbert, American composer (1918-2003)
- Herschel C. Loveless, American politician (1911-1989)
- John Glenn, American astronaut and politician (1921–2016)
- Michael Greger, American physician, author, and health activist

## 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.