How Many People Are Named Herman?
An estimated 43,444 people in the United States have the first name Herman. It is predominantly male (99.4%). The average bearer is 67 years old, and Herman peaked in popularity in 1921 with 3,239 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Herman as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Herman paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Herman is overwhelmingly male, 795 female births have been registered with this name since 1880.
- With an average bearer age of 67, Herman is a vintage name most associated with earlier generations. Most living bearers were born before 1969.
- Herman has fallen dramatically from its peak in the 1920s. Recent registrations are less than 5% of what they were at the name's height.
Estimated Living Americans
43,444
About 1 in 7,890 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Male
99.4% confidence
Average Age
67
years old
Peak Year
1921
3,239 births
Total Registered
136,709
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Herman
Herman is almost exclusively a male name. Out of 136,709 total births registered, 99.4% were male.
Herman as a male name
Ranked #2,641 in 2024
50 male births in 2024
Peak: 1921 (3,219 births)
Herman as a female name
Ranked #9,498 in 1980
6 female births in 1980
Peak: 1925 (29 births)
Herman: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Herman span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1920s, when 29,205 babies were registered. Herman has declined significantly from its peak in the 1920s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Herman by Decade
How has Herman tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 3,689 | 3,689 | 0 | |
| 1890s | 4,252 | 4,232 | 20 | |
| 1900s | 5,081 | 5,064 | 17 | |
| 1910s | 22,716 | 22,598 | 118 | |
| 1920s | 29,205 | 29,011 | 194 | |
| 1930s | 20,459 | 20,319 | 140 | |
| 1940s | 16,957 | 16,856 | 101 | |
| 1950s | 13,920 | 13,833 | 87 | |
| 1960s | 8,431 | 8,359 | 72 | |
| 1970s | 4,801 | 4,761 | 40 | |
| 1980s | 3,130 | 3,124 | 6 | |
| 1990s | 1,957 | 1,957 | 0 | |
| 2000s | 1,101 | 1,101 | 0 | |
| 2010s | 749 | 749 | 0 | |
| 2020s | 261 | 261 | 0 | |
Herman by State
Birth registrations for Herman span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in New York, Texas, North Carolina. The lowest are in Nevada, Wyoming, Vermont. On average, about 2,339 Hermans were registered per state.
Herman + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Herman as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Herman
Other first names starting with H with a similar number of bearers.
Herman: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Herman?
We estimate approximately 43,444 people named Herman are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 7,890 Americans share this first name.
Is Herman a common name?
Herman is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 99.1% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 136,709 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Herman most popular?
Herman reached peak popularity in 1921, when 3,239 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Herman is approximately 67 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Herman a male name?
Herman is predominantly male. 99.4% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Herman Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Herman Smith, Herman Johnson, Herman Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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