Meaning and background
The story behind Herschel
Herschel is both a recorded Yiddish personal name and a German or Jewish surname. In personal-name use it is a diminutive of Hirsh, a Yiddish name whose base means 'deer'; the surname dictionary similarly connects Herschel with Hirsch. The astronomer William Herschel is a notable cultural bearer of the family name. The deer sense comes from the earlier personal-name root, not from a separate English word 'Herschel'.
- Origin
- Recorded Yiddish diminutive of Hirsh as a given name; separately a German and Ashkenazic surname derived from a pet form of Hirsch. Source
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About Herschel
Recorded as a dog’s name
Herschel appears in 5 dog licence records in the 2016 New York City dataset.
How to read this count
These records cover New York City and may count the same dog in more than one licence period. They are not a national popularity ranking.
Pronunciation and rhythm
/hɝʃəl/
US English sound sequence, converted from the CMU dictionary. Stress marks are shown separately.
Stress on the first syllable in the recorded US readings.
View dictionary notation
/hɝʃəl/ · primary stress on syllable 1HH ER1 SH AH0 L
These are US dictionary readings. Personal, regional and other language pronunciations may differ.
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Sources and research notes (2)
- New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene NYC Dog Licensing Dataset — all seven available extract years, retrieved 24 October 2026 — Recorded name spellings in NYC licence-period rows, extract years 2016–2018, 2022–2024 and 2026. Evidence selects one stated year per name. Annual snapshots overlap; never sum them as unique dogs. No national popularity, etymology or owner naming-intent claim.
- Carnegie Mellon University / CMU Sphinx maintainers CMU US English Pronouncing Dictionary — US English dictionary readings; not owner-specific or exhaustive multilingual pronunciation
References support the individual facts shown. A source link does not mean the entire profile has been verified.