Herschel: name meaning, origin & popularity
- Meaning
- “little deer”
- Origin
- Yiddish
- Say it
- HER-shel · 2 syllables
- Used for
- Boys
From Yiddish Hershl, a diminutive of hirsh 'deer,' ultimately from German Hirsch. It has long been used among Ashkenazi Jews.
How popular is Herschel?
Babies named Herschel in 202420
2024 rank#4,872 boys
Peak year1912
Total US babies since 188010,640
Herschel is rising: use over the last five years is 2.2× what it was a decade earlier.
Names like Herschel
Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.
Herschel questions
What does the name Herschel mean?
Herschel means "little deer". It comes from Yiddish. From Yiddish Hershl, a diminutive of hirsh 'deer,' ultimately from German Hirsch. It has long been used among Ashkenazi Jews.
Is Herschel a boy or girl name?
Herschel is mainly a boy's name in US records (100% of uses since 1880).
How popular is Herschel?
20 US babies were named Herschel in 2024. Its peak year was 1912.
How do you pronounce Herschel?
Herschel is usually pronounced HER-shel.
Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.