Hershel

Where Hershel comes from

Borrowed from Yiddish הירשעל (hirshel), a diminutive of הירש (hirsh, “deer, buck”).
— Wiktionary's entry for Hershel
  • Yiddish
Along the way
  1. 1880
    First SSA year
    Already #909 among boys — 5 babies in the first year on record.
  2. 1930
    Hershel Shanks born
    American archaeologist
  3. 1932
    Peak, #391
    207 babies named Hershel — more than any year before or since.
  4. 1936
    Hershel W. Gober born
    Recipient of the Purple Heart medal
  5. 1955
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #732.
In the dictionary
  • A male given name from Yiddish.
Namesakes
  • Hershel W. Gober · Recipient of the Purple Heart medal, 1936–2024
  • Hershel Shanks · American archaeologist, 1930–2021
  • Hershel McGriff · American stock car driver, born 1927
  • Hershel Dennis · player of American football, born 1984
  • Hershel Schachter · Gadol and posek hador for American Jews, born 1941

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.