How Many People Are Named Hershel?
An estimated 4,377 people in the United States have the first name Hershel. It is almost exclusively a male name. The average bearer is 56 years old, and Hershel peaked in popularity in 1924 with 226 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Hershel 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 Hershel paired with any surname.
Estimated Living Americans
4,377
About 1 in 78,308 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Rare
Predicted Gender
Male
100.0% confidence
Average Age
56
years old
Peak Year
1924
226 births
Total Registered
10,284
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Hershel
Hershel is almost exclusively a male name. Out of 10,284 total births registered, 100.0% were male.
Hershel as a male name
Ranked #2,755 in 2024
47 male births in 2024
Peak: 1924 (226 births)
Hershel as a female name
Ranked #5,144 in 1918
5 female births in 1918
Peak: 1918 (5 births)
Hershel: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Hershel span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1920s, when 2,032 babies were registered. Hershel has declined significantly from its peak in the 1920s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Hershel by Decade
How has Hershel 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.
Hershel by State
Birth registrations for Hershel span all 23 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in Kentucky, New York, Texas. The lowest are in South Carolina, Florida, Kansas. On average, about 311 Hershels were registered per state.
Hershel + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Hershel as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Hershel
Other first names starting with H with a similar number of bearers.
Hershel: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hershel?
We estimate approximately 4,377 people named Hershel 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 78,308 Americans share this first name.
Is Hershel a common name?
Hershel is classified as "Rare" and is more popular than 96.2% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 10,284 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Hershel most popular?
Hershel reached peak popularity in 1924, when 226 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Hershel is approximately 56 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Hershel a male name?
Hershel is predominantly male. 100.0% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Hershel Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Hershel Smith, Hershel Johnson, Hershel 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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