Hurchel
A rare English masculine name of uncertain meaning, possibly a variant of Herschel.
Name Census estimates that about 4 living Americans carry the first name Hurchel. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Hurchel today is around 84 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hurchel births was 1936 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hurchel. 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 Hurchel is about 84 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Hurchels were born before 1952.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Hurchel. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
4
~ 1 in 85,688,585 Americans
Peak year
1936
7 babies that year
Average age
84
years old
1936 SSA rank
#3,011
Tracked since 1915
Popularity
Hurchel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hurchel from the 1910s through to the 1930s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 22 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1910s peak, Hurchel remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Hurchel 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 Hurchel 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 Hurchel
The given name Hurchel is believed to have originated from the Old Frisian language, which was spoken in the coastal regions of modern-day Netherlands and Germany during the early medieval period. The name is thought to be derived from the Proto-Germanic root "hurk," meaning "bent" or "crooked," possibly alluding to a physical characteristic or occupation of the person bearing the name.
Hurchel is a relatively obscure name, and there are no known references to it in ancient texts, religious scriptures, or historical records from the Middle Ages. The earliest recorded instance of the name dates back to the 16th century, when a man named Hurchel Janszen was mentioned in a legal document from the city of Leeuwarden, in the Dutch province of Friesland, in 1583.
One of the earliest known individuals bearing the name Hurchel was Hurchel Tamminga, a farmer and landowner who lived in the village of Stiens, Friesland, in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. His exact birth and death years are unknown, but records indicate that he was active in the community between 1580 and 1620.
In the 18th century, a man named Hurchel Rommerts was a prominent merchant and trader based in the city of Groningen, in the northern Netherlands. He was involved in the import and export of goods, particularly textiles and spices, and was known for his extensive trade networks across Europe. Rommerts was born in 1712 and died in 1785.
Another notable figure with the name Hurchel was Hurchel van Buren, a Dutch military officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars. Born in 1780 in the town of Vlissingen, van Buren joined the Dutch army and rose through the ranks, eventually becoming a captain in the infantry. He fought in several battles against the French forces before being captured and imprisoned in 1813. Van Buren was released after Napoleon's defeat and died in 1842.
In the 19th century, a man named Hurchel Geertsma was a respected teacher and scholar in the city of Leeuwarden. Born in 1822, Geertsma dedicated his life to education and wrote several influential works on pedagogy and language instruction. He taught at various schools in Friesland and was known for his innovative teaching methods. Geertsma passed away in 1898.
While the name Hurchel was once relatively common in the Frisian region of the Netherlands, it has become quite rare in modern times, likely due to its obscure origins and the decline of the Frisian language and culture in the face of Dutch and German domination. However, the name serves as a reminder of the rich linguistic diversity and historical heritage of the coastal regions of northern Europe.
People
Hurchel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hurchel 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
Hurchel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hurchel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hurchel 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 85,688,585 US residents.
Is Hurchel a common name?
We classify Hurchel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 6.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 55 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hurchel most popular?
The single biggest year for Hurchel was 1936, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hurchel is about 84 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 Hurchel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Hurchel a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Hurchel 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 Hurchel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Hurchel 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 Hurchel 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 Americans are named Hurchel?
Want to know how many Americans are named Hurchel? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.