Hermes
Herald or messenger; associated with speed, eloquence and trade.
Name Census estimates that about 638 living Americans carry the first name Hermes. It is a predominantly male name (99.2% of registrations). The average person named Hermes today is around 25 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hermes births was 2021 (30 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hermes. 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 Hermes with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
638
~ 1 in 537,233 Americans
Peak year
2021
30 babies that year
Average age
25
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,908
Tracked since 1924
Census
Hermes in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,853 people with the first name Hermes, which placed it at #7,959 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
#7,959
National first-name rank
People counted
1.9K
1,853 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
81.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hermes
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hermes is Hispanic at 81.4%. The next largest groups are White (7.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (7.6%). 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 Hermes 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 Hermes at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino81.4% · 1,508
- White7.6% · 141
- Asian and Pacific Islander7.6% · 140
- Black or African American2.7% · 50
- Two or more races0.4% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 6
Gender
Gender distribution for Hermes
Out of the 665 babies given the name Hermes since 1880, 99.2% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Hermes as a male name
- Ranked #3,908 in 2024
- 28 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2021 (30 births)
Hermes as a female name
- Ranked #16,437 in 2019
- 5 female births in 2019
- Peak: 2019 (5 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Hermes leans strongly male. 1,767 people counted with this name were male (95.4%), compared with 85 female bearers (4.6%).
Popularity
Hermes: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hermes from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 133 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Hermes 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 Hermes during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Hermes' live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, New York, Texas recorded the most babies named Hermes, while Florida, Texas, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 23 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Hermes
The name Hermes is derived from the ancient Greek word "hermeneus", meaning "messenger" or "interpreter". It originates from the ancient Greek god Hermes, who was the messenger of the gods and the patron of travelers, commerce, and communication.
The earliest recorded use of the name Hermes can be traced back to ancient Greek mythology and literature, where Hermes was a prominent figure. He was often depicted as a young man with winged sandals and a winged cap, carrying a caduceus, a staff entwined with two snakes.
In ancient Greek texts, Hermes was portrayed as the son of Zeus and the nymph Maia. He was revered for his cunning, wit, and ability to move swiftly between the realms of the gods and mortals. The name Hermes was associated with qualities such as intelligence, eloquence, and resourcefulness.
One of the earliest known individuals named Hermes was a Greek writer and philosopher who lived in the 3rd century BC. He is known for his work "The Cynic Discourses", which provided insight into the teachings of the Cynic philosophical school.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Hermes. One of the most famous was Hermes Trismegistus, a legendary figure from ancient Egypt who was believed to be the founder of occult knowledge and the author of the Hermetic texts, which influenced Western esoteric traditions.
In the Renaissance period, a German philosopher and scholar known as Hermes Trismegistus (c. 1488-1535) was influential in the study of alchemy and occult sciences. His real name was Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim, but he adopted the name Hermes Trismegistus to align himself with the ancient wisdom associated with the legendary figure.
Another notable individual named Hermes was Hermes Phalerius (c. 355-285 BC), an Athenian orator, statesman, and philosopher who served as the head of the Library of Alexandria in ancient Egypt.
In the modern era, the name Hermes has been used by individuals such as Hermes Pan (1859-1923), a Greek poet and scholar who played a significant role in the Greek literary renaissance of the 19th century.
While the name Hermes has its roots in ancient Greek mythology and culture, it has transcended time and geographical boundaries, appearing in various cultures and contexts throughout history, reflecting the enduring legacy of the messenger god and the qualities associated with his name.
People
Hermes + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hermes 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
Hermes: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hermes?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 638 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hermes 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 537,233 US residents.
Is Hermes a common name?
We classify Hermes as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 665 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hermes most popular?
The single biggest year for Hermes was 2021, when 30 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hermes is about 25 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Hermes in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,853 people with the name Hermes, or 0.61 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,959 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 Hermes 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 Hermes?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Hermes leans strongly male. 1,767 people counted with this name were male (95.4%), compared with 85 female bearers (4.6%). 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 Hermes?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hermes is Hispanic at 81.4%. The next largest groups are White (7.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (7.6%). 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 Hermes most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Hermes in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.4% (1,508 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 Hermes in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Hermes a male name?
Yes, 99.2% of people registered as Hermes 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 Hermes still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Hermes 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 Hermes 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 Hermes?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.