Hery
A name of Malagasy origin meaning "fortunate" or "blessed".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Hery. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Hery today is around 46 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hery births was 1977 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hery. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Hery. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
1977
5 babies that year
Average age
46
years old
1977 SSA rank
#6,226
Tracked since 1977
Census
Hery in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 215 people with the first name Hery, which placed it at #36,733 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
#36,733
National first-name rank
People counted
215
215 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
63.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hery
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hery is Hispanic at 63.7%. The next largest groups are White (13.5%) and Black (10.2%). 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 Hery 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 Hery at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino63.7% · 137
- White13.5% · 29
- Black or African American10.2% · 22
- Asian and Pacific Islander9.8% · 21
- Two or more races2.8% · 6
Popularity
Hery: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Hery 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 Hery during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Hery
The name Hery is believed to have originated from the ancient Greek language, tracing its roots back to the 5th century BC. It is derived from the Greek word "heros," which means "hero" or "protector." This name was commonly given to male children born into families of warriors or those who held positions of power and influence.
During the Classical Greek period, the name Hery was associated with various mythological figures and heroes from ancient Greek literature. One notable example is Heracles, the legendary hero known for his incredible strength and valor, who was often referred to as "Hery" or "Heries" in some ancient texts.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Hery can be found in ancient Greek inscriptions and historical records from the 5th century BC onwards. It was a popular name among the aristocratic and military classes of ancient Greece, particularly in regions such as Athens, Sparta, and Corinth.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Hery. One of the earliest examples is Hery of Lesbos, a renowned Greek lyric poet who lived in the 7th century BC. Another prominent figure was Hery of Alexandria, a Greek philosopher and mathematician who lived in the 5th century AD and made significant contributions to the field of geometry.
In the medieval period, the name Hery was adopted by various European cultures and underwent slight variations in spelling and pronunciation. One notable bearer of the name was Hery II, Duke of Bavaria, who ruled from 955 to 976 AD and played a crucial role in the expansion of the Holy Roman Empire.
During the Renaissance, the name Hery gained popularity among artists and intellectuals. One of the most famous individuals with this name was Hery VIII, King of England from 1509 to 1547. His reign was marked by the English Reformation and the establishment of the Church of England.
Another notable figure was Hery IV, King of France from 1589 to 1610, who is remembered for his efforts in unifying the country after the French Wars of Religion and for his patronage of the arts and literature.
In the 19th century, the name Hery was borne by Hery Wadsworth Longfellow, an American poet and educator who is renowned for his works such as "The Song of Hiawatha" and "Evangeline." He was a prominent figure in the Fireside Poets movement and played a significant role in shaping American literature.
People
Hery + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hery 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
Hery: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hery?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hery 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Hery a common name?
We classify Hery as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hery most popular?
The single biggest year for Hery was 1977, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hery is about 46 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Hery in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 215 people with the name Hery, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #36,733 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 Hery 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 Hery?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Hery leans strongly male. 204 people counted with this name were male (93.6%), compared with 14 female bearers (6.4%). 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 Hery?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hery is Hispanic at 63.7%. The next largest groups are White (13.5%) and Black (10.2%). 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 Hery most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Hery in the 2020 Census, accounting for 63.7% (137 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 Hery in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Hery a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Hery 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 Hery still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Hery 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 Hery 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 common is the name Hery?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.