Hercules
A masculine name derived from Greek mythology, meaning "glory of Hera".
Name Census estimates that about 748 living Americans carry the first name Hercules. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Hercules today is around 46 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hercules births was 2023 (30 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hercules. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Hercules with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
748
~ 1 in 458,228 Americans
Peak year
2023
30 babies that year
Average age
46
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,582
Tracked since 1908
Census
Hercules in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 793 people with the first name Hercules, which placed it at #14,753 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
#14,753
National first-name rank
People counted
793
793 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
40.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hercules
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hercules is Black at 40.5%. The next largest groups are White (27.6%) and Hispanic (15.0%). 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 Hercules 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 Hercules at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American40.5% · 321
- White27.6% · 219
- Hispanic or Latino15.0% · 119
- Asian and Pacific Islander11.0% · 87
- Two or more races5.3% · 42
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 5
Popularity
Hercules: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hercules from the 1900s through to the 2020s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1930s, with 173 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1930s peak, Hercules remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Hercules 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 Hercules during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Hercules' live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. South Carolina, California, New York recorded the most babies named Hercules, while Texas, Minnesota, Hawaii recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 47 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Hercules
The given name Hercules has its origins in ancient Greek mythology and culture. It is derived from the Greek word "Heracles," which means "the glory of Hera." Hera was the queen of the Greek gods and the wife of Zeus. The name was originally spelled as "Herakles" in ancient Greek.
Hercules was the Roman adaptation of the Greek name Heracles, the legendary hero known for his exceptional strength and numerous labors or tasks he had to complete. His mythological adventures and exploits are recounted in various ancient Greek texts, including the works of Homer, Hesiod, and Euripides.
The earliest recorded example of the name Hercules can be found in the ancient Roman epic poem "The Aeneid" by Virgil, written between 29 and 19 BCE. In this epic, Hercules is mentioned as a renowned hero who had traveled to Italy and founded several cities.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Hercules. One of the most famous was Hercules of Gaul (c. 380 CE), a Roman military leader and general who served under the Western Roman Emperor Honorius. Another notable Hercules was Hercules of Saxony (c. 1275-1344), a prince and member of the House of Ascania.
In the Renaissance period, the Italian painter Hercules Piatori (c. 1500-1572) was known for his religious works and frescoes in churches across Italy. The Dutch philosopher and mathematician Hercules Lenting (1630-1696) made significant contributions to the field of mathematics and logic.
During the 19th century, Hercules Robinson (1824-1897) was a prominent British statesman who served as the Governor of several British colonies, including New South Wales and Hong Kong. Hercules Brabazon Brabazon (1821-1906) was an Irish architect and designer who is remembered for his contributions to the Gothic Revival architectural style.
It is worth noting that the name Hercules has been used across various cultures and time periods, often associated with strength, bravery, and heroic qualities, drawing inspiration from the legendary Greek hero.
People
Hercules + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hercules 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
Hercules: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hercules?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 748 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hercules 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 458,228 US residents.
Is Hercules a common name?
We classify Hercules as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,300 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hercules most popular?
The single biggest year for Hercules was 2023, when 30 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hercules is about 46 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Hercules in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 793 people with the name Hercules, or 0.26 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #14,753 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 Hercules 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 Hercules?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Hercules appears almost entirely male. Of the 791 people counted with this name, 99.5% 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 Hercules?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hercules is Black at 40.5%. The next largest groups are White (27.6%) and Hispanic (15.0%). 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 Hercules most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Hercules in the 2020 Census, accounting for 40.5% (321 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 Hercules in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Hercules a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Hercules 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 Hercules still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Hercules 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 Hercules 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 Americans are named Hercules?
Find out how many people have the name Hercules on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.