Hessel
A masculine Dutch name derived from the Dutch word "hessel" meaning "hazel".
Name Census estimates that about 0 living Americans carry the first name Hessel. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Hessel today is around 0 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hessel births was 1920 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hessel. 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 Hessel. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
0
~ - Americans
Peak year
1920
6 babies that year
Average age
-
1923 SSA rank
#4,516
Tracked since 1920
Popularity
Hessel: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Hessel 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 Hessel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1920s | 11 | 0 | 11 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Hessel
The name Hessel has its origins in the Germanic languages, specifically the Low German dialects spoken in northern Germany and the Netherlands. It can be traced back to the Old Saxon word "hasil," which means "hazelnut" or "hazel tree."
In the Middle Ages, the use of nature-inspired names was common among Germanic tribes, as they revered the natural world and often drew inspiration from plants, animals, and natural phenomena. The name Hessel likely emerged during this period as a personal name given to children, symbolizing strength, resilience, and a connection to the earth.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Hessel can be found in the medieval Dutch manuscript "Oorkondenboek van Holland en Zeeland" from the 13th century, where it appears as a personal name. This suggests that the name had already gained some prominence in the Low Countries by that time.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Hessel. One of the earliest was Hessel Gerritsz (c. 1580-1632), a Dutch Golden Age painter known for his still life paintings and portrait works. Another notable figure was Hessel Tiedra (1587-1667), a Dutch naval officer and Admiral of the Admiralty of Amsterdam during the Dutch-Portuguese War.
In the 19th century, Hessel de Groot (1853-1924) was a Dutch jurist and judge who served as the President of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague. Hessel Postma (1874-1944) was a Dutch actor and theater director who founded the Amsterdam People's Theater (Amsterdamse Volkstoneelgroep).
More recently, Hessel Tjalma (1928-2010) was a Dutch football player who played as a defender for SC Enschede and the Netherlands national team in the 1950s.
While the name Hessel has maintained a modest presence throughout history, it has primarily been concentrated in the Low German-speaking regions of northern Europe, particularly in the Netherlands and parts of Germany. Its enduring legacy lies in its connection to nature and its role in preserving the cultural heritage of these regions.
People
Hessel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hessel 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
Hessel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hessel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 0 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hessel 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 - US residents.
Is Hessel a common name?
We classify Hessel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 2.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 11 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hessel most popular?
The single biggest year for Hessel was 1920, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hessel is about 0 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Hessel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Hessel a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Hessel 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 Hessel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Hessel 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 Hessel 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people share the name Hessel?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.