Herbie
A diminutive form of the German name Herbert, meaning "bright army".
Name Census estimates that about 715 living Americans carry the first name Herbie. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Herbie today is around 65 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Herbie births was 1959 (45 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Herbie. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
715
~ 1 in 479,377 Americans
Peak year
1959
45 babies that year
Average age
65
years old
2007 SSA rank
#10,163
Tracked since 1913
Popularity
Herbie: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Herbie from the 1910s through to the 2000s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 261 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Herbie by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Herbie during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Herbies live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. Texas, California, New York recorded the most babies named Herbie, while Illinois, Alabama, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 12 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Herbie
The name Herbie is a diminutive form of the Germanic name Herbert. It originated from the Old German words "heri" meaning army and "beraht" meaning bright or illustrious. The name Herbert can be traced back to the 8th century and was popular among the Franks and other Germanic tribes.
In the Middle Ages, the name Herbie was commonly used as a nickname or pet form of Herbert. It was particularly prevalent in England, where it was often spelled as Herby or Herberd. Some early recorded examples of the name include Herby de Wautone, mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1195, and Herberd de Brocton, recorded in the Assize Rolls of Shropshire in 1256.
One of the earliest known historical figures with the name Herbie was Herbie Norris (c. 1610-1689), an English politician and landowner who served as a Member of Parliament for Calne in Wiltshire during the reign of Charles II. Another notable bearer of the name was Herbie Farnsworth (1687-1768), a renowned English clockmaker and inventor of the chronometer, a significant advancement in maritime navigation.
In the 19th century, Herbie gained popularity as a nickname for Herbert, particularly in the United States. One of the most famous individuals with this name was Herbie Hancock (born 1940), the celebrated American jazz pianist, composer, and bandleader. He is widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century and has won numerous awards, including 14 Grammy Awards.
Another well-known Herbie was Herbie Blomquist (1906-1996), an American football player and coach. He played as a quarterback for the University of Michigan and later coached several college teams, including the University of Illinois and the University of Idaho. In the world of sports, Herbie Brooks (1937-2003) was a notable American ice hockey player and coach, best known for leading the 1980 United States Olympic hockey team to a historic victory against the Soviet Union, an event known as the "Miracle on Ice."
Herbie Nichols (1919-1963) was an influential American jazz pianist and composer known for his innovative and complex compositions. His unique style and virtuosity have been widely celebrated within the jazz community. Finally, Herbie Kauffman (1919-2010) was a renowned American abstract expressionist painter and art teacher, whose works are part of numerous museums and private collections around the world.
People
Herbie + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Herbie as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with H
Other first names starting with H with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Herbie: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Herbie?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 715 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Herbie going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 479,377 US residents.
Is Herbie a common name?
We classify Herbie as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,094 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Herbie most popular?
The single biggest year for Herbie was 1959, when 45 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Herbie is about 65 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Herbie a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Herbie in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.