Hurshel
A Hebrew name meaning "deer" or "hart".
Name Census estimates that about 188 living Americans carry the first name Hurshel. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Hurshel today is around 78 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hurshel births was 1921 (33 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hurshel. 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 Hurshel is about 78 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Hurshels were born before 1958.
People living today
188
~ 1 in 1,823,161 Americans
Peak year
1921
33 babies that year
Average age
78
years old
1987 SSA rank
#7,406
Tracked since 1904
Census
Hurshel in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 211 people with the first name Hurshel, which placed it at #37,164 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
#37,164
National first-name rank
People counted
211
211 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
80.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hurshel
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hurshel is White at 80.6%. The next largest groups are Black (11.4%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Hurshel 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 Hurshel at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.6% · 170
- Black or African American11.4% · 24
- Two or more races3.8% · 8
- Hispanic or Latino1.9% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 2
Popularity
Hurshel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hurshel from the 1900s through to the 1980s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 254 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Hurshel 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 Hurshel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Hurshels live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. Kentucky, Arkansas, Tennessee recorded the most babies named Hurshel, while Missouri, Texas, Oklahoma recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 18 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Hurshel
The given name Hurshel is believed to have originated from the Hebrew language, with its roots traced back to the ancient Middle Eastern region. The name is closely related to the Hebrew word "Hurshe," which means "silence" or "quietude." It is speculated that this name was initially given to individuals who exhibited a calm and serene demeanor.
In early historical records, the name Hurshel has been found mentioned in various religious texts and ancient scrolls from the region. Some scholars suggest that it may have been used as a name for individuals who were known for their contemplative nature or their ability to maintain composure in challenging situations.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Hurshel can be traced back to the 12th century, when it was documented in a few rabbinical writings from the region. One of the first notable individuals to bear this name was Hurshel ben Moshe, a renowned Jewish scholar and philosopher who lived in Spain during the 13th century. He was widely respected for his contributions to the study of Kabbalah and Jewish mysticism.
In the 16th century, Hurshel Maimonides, a descendant of the famous philosopher Moses Maimonides, gained recognition as a prominent rabbi and commentator on the Talmud. His works and teachings had a significant influence on Jewish intellectual circles of that era.
Moving forward in time, Hurshel Rothschild, born in 1785, was a prominent figure in the world of finance and banking. He was a member of the renowned Rothschild family and played a crucial role in establishing the family's financial empire across Europe.
In the 19th century, Hurshel Mendelssohn, a German philosopher and writer, made significant contributions to the Enlightenment movement. He was known for his advocacy of religious tolerance and his efforts to promote the integration of Jews into German society.
Another notable figure bearing the name Hurshel was Hurshel Grynszpan, a Polish-born Jew who lived in the early 20th century. His assassination of a German diplomat in 1938 was used by the Nazis as a pretext for the infamous Kristallnacht pogrom against Jewish communities across Germany.
While the name Hurshel has its roots in the Hebrew language and culture, it has since been adopted and used in various communities around the world, albeit with varying spellings and pronunciations. However, its connection to the concepts of silence, contemplation, and tranquility remains a common thread throughout its historical journey.
People
Hurshel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hurshel 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
Hurshel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hurshel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 188 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hurshel 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 1,823,161 US residents.
Is Hurshel a common name?
We classify Hurshel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 73.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 841 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hurshel most popular?
The single biggest year for Hurshel was 1921, when 33 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hurshel is about 78 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Hurshel in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 211 people with the name Hurshel, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #37,164 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 Hurshel 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 Hurshel?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Hurshel appears almost entirely male. Of the 210 people counted with this name, 99.0% 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 Hurshel?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hurshel is White at 80.6%. The next largest groups are Black (11.4%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Hurshel most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Hurshel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.6% (170 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 Hurshel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Hurshel a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Hurshel 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 Hurshel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Hurshel 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 Hurshel 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 Hurshel?
You can see how many Americans are named Hurshel on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.