Hersh
One who delights in happiness and joy.
Name Census estimates that about 825 living Americans carry the first name Hersh. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Hersh today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hersh births was 2024 (44 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hersh. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Hersh with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
825
~ 1 in 415,460 Americans
Peak year
2024
44 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,882
Tracked since 1959
Census
Hersh in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 755 people with the first name Hersh, which placed it at #15,282 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#15,282
National first-name rank
People counted
755
755 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
68.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hersh
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hersh is White at 68.6%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (29.7%) and Hispanic (0.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Hersh described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Hersh at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White68.6% · 518
- Asian and Pacific Islander29.7% · 224
- Hispanic or Latino0.7% · 5
- Two or more races0.7% · 5
- Black or African American0.3% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Popularity
Hersh: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hersh from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 249 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Hersh remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Hersh 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 Hersh during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Hershs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Hersh
The name Hersh has its roots in the Yiddish language, which is a dialect of German spoken by Ashkenazi Jewish communities in Eastern and Central Europe. The name is derived from the German word "Hirsch," which means "deer" or "stag." It is believed to have originated as a surname or a nickname, possibly referring to someone who had deer-like qualities, such as swiftness or grace.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Hersh can be traced back to the 16th century, when it appeared in various Jewish communities across Europe. It was often used as a diminutive form of the longer name "Hirschel" or "Hirschel," which was a common Jewish name during that time.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, the name Hersh gained popularity among Jewish families, particularly in Poland, Lithuania, and Russia. It was often given to newborn boys as a way to honor their ancestors or to express a connection to their cultural heritage.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Hersh. One of the most famous was Hersh Leyb Mordkhe, a Yiddish writer and scholar who lived in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He was known for his contributions to Yiddish literature and his efforts to preserve Jewish culture and traditions.
Another prominent figure with the name Hersh was Hersh Davidovich Mendel, a Russian-born American engineer and inventor who lived from 1868 to 1936. He is credited with developing several important innovations in the field of electrical engineering, including the first successful high-voltage direct current transmission system.
In the 20th century, Hersh Wolynski was a Polish-born Canadian painter and sculptor who gained recognition for his abstract expressionist works. He was born in 1908 and lived until 1986, leaving a lasting impact on the Canadian art scene.
Hersh Waten, an Australian writer and literary critic, was also a notable figure in the mid-20th century. Born in 1912 and lived until 1993, he was a prominent voice in the Australian Jewish community and contributed significantly to the country's literary landscape.
Finally, Hersh Rubinstein, a South African businessman and philanthropist, was another influential figure with the name Hersh. Born in 1927, he made significant contributions to various charitable causes, particularly in the areas of education and healthcare.
People
Hersh + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hersh 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
Hersh: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hersh?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 825 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hersh 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 415,460 US residents.
Is Hersh a common name?
We classify Hersh as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 839 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hersh most popular?
The single biggest year for Hersh was 2024, when 44 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hersh is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Hersh in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 755 people with the name Hersh, or 0.25 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #15,282 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Hersh in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Hersh?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Hersh appears almost entirely male. Of the 752 people counted with this name, 99.3% were male and only a very small share were female. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Hersh?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hersh is White at 68.6%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (29.7%) and Hispanic (0.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Hersh most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Hersh in the 2020 Census, accounting for 68.6% (518 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Hersh in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Hersh a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Hersh 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.
Is Hersh still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Hersh in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Hersh can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How many people share the name Hersh?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.