Hernan vs Hersel
American parents have registered 5,230 Hernans since 1880, against 197 Hersels. Hernan is still ahead, with 72 babies in 2025.
Babies given each name, 1880–2025
Hernan Hersel
Each line is every baby given the name that year, girls and boys added together — the only count that means the same thing for both names. A line breaks where the name fell below five babies in a year — the point at which the SSA stops publishing it — rather than being drawn through a figure nobody published. A single published year in a gap shows as a dot.
Who was ahead
Of the 103 years in which either name was published, Hernan for 83 years and Hersel for 20 years. The lead changed hands 11 times.
Side by side
| Hernan | Hersel | |
|---|---|---|
| Total US births | 5,230 | 197 |
| Most in one year | 186 | 16 |
| Babies in 2025 | 72 | under 5 |
| Estimated living today | 5,000 | 20 |
| Median age today | 26 | 77 |
| Peak year | 1995 | 1921 |
| Best rank | 785th boys | 2,059th boys |
| Rank in 2025 | 2,056th | unranked |
| First recorded | 1921 | 1909 |
| Girls / boys | 0 / 5,230 | 0 / 197 |
A rank is a position within one sex’s list for one year, so the two rank rows are not subtracted from one another and the winning column is not marked on them. The living figure is a life-table estimate, not a count.
Which name is older
Half of the Hersels alive today are over 77; half the Hernans are over 26. That is 51 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.
Compare something else
Related comparisons
Social Security Administration birth records, 1880–2025, public domain. Full histories: Hernan and Hersel.