Hershel is a Yiddish name, a diminutive of Hersh, which means "deer" and is the traditional Yiddish companion of the Hebrew Naphtali, whom Jacob blessed as a swift deer. The spelling Herschel is familiar from the astronomer William Herschel and the football star Herschel Walker, while Hershel is the usual form in Orthodox families today. In the United States Hershel peaked at number 2,277 in 2005 and ranks number 2,692 among boys in 2025, with 48 births.