Herald
A masculine name derived from the Old English word meaning "messenger".
Name Census estimates that about 279 living Americans carry the first name Herald. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Herald today is around 70 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Herald births was 1926 (38 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Herald. 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 Herald is about 70 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Heralds were born before 1966.
People living today
279
~ 1 in 1,228,510 Americans
Peak year
1926
38 babies that year
Average age
70
years old
2022 SSA rank
#11,372
Tracked since 1900
Census
Herald in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 702 people with the first name Herald, which placed it at #16,164 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
#16,164
National first-name rank
People counted
702
702 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
58.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Herald
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Herald is White at 58.4%. The next largest groups are Black (16.4%) and Hispanic (10.8%). 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 Herald 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 Herald at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White58.4% · 410
- Black or African American16.4% · 115
- Hispanic or Latino10.8% · 76
- Asian and Pacific Islander10.8% · 76
- Two or more races2.4% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 8
Popularity
Herald: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Herald from the 1900s through to the 2020s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 276 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
Herald 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 Herald during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Heralds live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. West Virginia, Kentucky, Iowa recorded the most babies named Herald, while Missouri, Iowa, Kentucky recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 10 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Herald
The name Herald has its origins in the Germanic languages, derived from the Old English words "here" meaning army, and "wald" meaning rule or leader. It was initially used as a title for an official who made public proclamations on behalf of a noble or sovereign, essentially serving as a messenger or announcer.
The earliest recorded use of the name Herald dates back to the Middle Ages, around the 12th century. During this period, Heralds played a crucial role in the feudal system, carrying messages, delivering challenges, and overseeing tournaments and ceremonies. They were tasked with preserving the rules of chivalry and maintaining the records of noble families' coats of arms and lineages.
In ancient times, the role of a Herald was often associated with the Greek god Hermes, who was the messenger of the gods and the patron of travelers and boundaries. This connection may have influenced the adoption of the name in certain regions influenced by Greek culture.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Herald was Herald of Landshut, a German nobleman who lived in the 12th century and served as a Knight and Herald for the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa. Another notable figure was Herald the Fortunate, a 13th-century Scottish knight who accompanied King Robert the Bruce during the Wars of Scottish Independence.
In the 15th century, a French Herald named Montjoye played a significant role in the Hundred Years' War, participating in negotiations between the English and French armies. Similarly, in the 16th century, a Scottish Herald named Lyon King of Arms was responsible for maintaining the records of Scottish nobility and overseeing the College of Arms in Edinburgh.
During the Renaissance period, the name Herald gained popularity among the upper classes, with several notable individuals bearing the name. One such example was Herald Laudonnière, a French explorer and colonist who established the first French settlement in Florida, Fort Caroline, in 1564.
As the role of Heralds evolved over time, the name became less common, but it has remained a part of various cultures' naming traditions, often carrying connotations of leadership, communication, and tradition.
People
Herald + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Herald 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
Herald: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Herald?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 279 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Herald 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 1,228,510 US residents.
Is Herald a common name?
We classify Herald as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 990 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Herald most popular?
The single biggest year for Herald was 1926, when 38 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Herald is about 70 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Herald in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 702 people with the name Herald, or 0.23 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #16,164 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 Herald 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 Herald?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Herald leans strongly male. 698 people counted with this name were male (98.7%), compared with 9 female bearers (1.3%). 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 Herald?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Herald is White at 58.4%. The next largest groups are Black (16.4%) and Hispanic (10.8%). 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 Herald most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Herald in the 2020 Census, accounting for 58.4% (410 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 Herald in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Herald a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Herald 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 Herald still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Herald 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 Herald 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 are called Herald?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.