Hermen
One with hermeneutical skills, an interpreter.
Name Census estimates that about 25 living Americans carry the first name Hermen. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Hermen today is around 72 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hermen births was 1957 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hermen. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Hermen is about 72 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Hermens were born before 1964.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Hermen. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
25
~ 1 in 13,710,174 Americans
Peak year
1957
9 babies that year
Average age
72
years old
1964 SSA rank
#4,282
Tracked since 1914
Popularity
Hermen: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hermen from the 1910s through to the 1960s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1930s, with 13 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1930s peak, Hermen remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Hermen 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 Hermen during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Hermen
The name Hermen originated from the Dutch language, derived from the Germanic name Hermann. It is believed to have its roots in the Proto-Germanic word "harjaz," meaning "army" or "host," and "mann," meaning "man." This suggests that the name Hermen may have been initially associated with warriors or soldiers in ancient Germanic tribes.
Hermen is a variant spelling of the more common Herman or Hermann, which has a long history dating back to the Middle Ages. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the 9th century, when a German monk named Herman the Lame (c. 835-888) wrote a famous biography of St. Gall, the apostle of Switzerland.
In the 11th century, Herman of Reichenau (1013-1054), a German Benedictine monk, mathematician, and scholar, made significant contributions to the study of music theory and the development of the staff notation system for musical scores. His works were widely influential during the medieval period.
During the Renaissance, Hermen Rode (c. 1480-1504) was a Dutch Renaissance painter known for his religious works and portraits. He was a member of the Antwerp School of painting and is considered one of the earliest representatives of the Antwerp Mannerist style.
In the 17th century, Hermen Ingels (c. 1580-1655) was a Flemish painter active in Antwerp. He is best known for his genre scenes depicting peasant life, as well as religious and mythological subjects.
In more recent history, Hermen Hartje (1894-1968) was a Dutch football player and manager. He played as a forward for several Dutch clubs, including Ajax Amsterdam, and represented the Netherlands national team. After retiring as a player, he became a successful manager, leading the Dutch national team to their first-ever FIFA World Cup appearance in 1934.
These examples demonstrate the rich historical legacy of the name Hermen, which has been borne by scholars, artists, and athletes throughout the centuries, primarily in the Netherlands and other Dutch-speaking regions.
People
Hermen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hermen 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
Hermen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hermen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 25 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hermen 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 13,710,174 US residents.
Is Hermen a common name?
We classify Hermen as "Very Rare". It ranks above 43.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 62 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hermen most popular?
The single biggest year for Hermen was 1957, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hermen is about 72 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Hermen a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Hermen 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.