Herman (name)

Herman
Pronunciation	/ˈhɜːrmən/
Gender	Male
Origin
Word/name	Germanic languages
Meaning	army's man
Region of origin	Northern Europe, Western Europe, Central Europe
Other names
Related names	Hermann, Armand, Armando, Ermanno, Harmon, Armin
Popularity	see popular names

Herman is a masculine given name, from an ancient Germanic name consisting of the elements harja- "army" and mann- "man". Hermine is the feminine form of Herman.^[1] It is first recorded in the 8th century, in the forms Hariman, Heriman, Hairman, Herman.^[2]

It regained popularity in the English-speaking world in the 19th century, particularly in the United States amongst German Americans.^[3]

Herman remains widely used in Dutch and Scandinavian languages. Variant forms include German Hermann; French Armand; Italian, Spanish and Portuguese Armando; Italian Ermanno.^[3]

Herman has also been in use as a German surname since the 16th century.^{[citation needed]}

The name of Arminius, the 1st-century leader of the Cherusci, became identified with the name Hermann in German historiography in the early modern period; thus, Arminius is traditionally known as Hermann der Cheruskerfürst in German. The name of Arminius is in fact from a stem ermen- "strong". The conflation of this element with the name Herman may indeed date to the medieval period, via variant forms such as Ermin, Ermen, Erman, Ermanno, feminine Ermina, Ermana, Hirmina, Hermena.^[4]

Middle Ages

Herman I (archbishop of Cologne) (d. 924)
Herman I, Duke of Swabia (d. 949)
Hermann Billung Duke of Saxony (d. 973)
Herman II, Duke of Swabia (d. 1003)
Herman III, Duke of Swabia (d. 1012)
Herman IV, Duke of Swabia (d. 1038)
Herman II (archbishop of Cologne) (d. 1056)
Hermann of Reichenau (1013–1064)
Herman (bishop of Salisbury), bishop of Ramsbury, Sherborne and Salisbury (d. 1078)
Hermann of Salm (d. 1088)
Herman the Archdeacon, hagiographer, d. 1090s
Herman II, Margrave of Baden (d. 1130)
Herman van Horne (d. 1156), bishop of Utrecht
Herman of Carinthia (ca. 1100–ca. 1160), Benedictine scholar
Herman Joseph of Cologne (1150–1243)
Hermannus Alemannus, Herman the German, 13th-century translator
Hermann von Münster (d. 1392), master glassmaker
Hermann II, Count of Celje (1365–1435)
Herman of Valaam, saint of the Russian Orthodox Church and founder of the Valaam Monastery in Karelia (date unknown, 10th to 15th centuries)

Early Modern

Hermann of Wied, archbishop of Cologne (1477–1552)
Herman de Lynden (1547–1603), Belgian military commander in the Eighty Years' War
Catharina Herman (died after 1604), Dutch war heroine
Jobst Herman, Count of Lippe (1625–1678), German noble
Herman Boerhaave (1668–1738), Dutch botanist
Herman of Alaska (1756–1837), Russian missionary to Alaska

Modern

The name Herman was popular in the United States during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, consistently ranking between 55 and 44 throughout the 1880–1914 period. Beginning with World War I, the name's popularity entered a steady decline for the remainder of the twentieth century, falling below rank 1,000 in the year 2000.^[5]

Herman (Aav), (1878–1961), head of the Orthodox Church of Finland
Herman (Swaiko) (1932–2022), former head of the Orthodox Church in America
Herman M. Albert (1901–1947), American lawyer and politician
Herman D. Aldrich (1801–1880), American businessman
Herman Barron (1909–1978), American professional golfer
Herman Berendsen (1934–2019), Dutch chemist
Herman Berlinski (1910–2001), German-born American composer and conductor
Herman Bouma (born 1934), Dutch vision researcher and gerontechnologist
Herman Cain (1945–2020), American businessman, talk show host, and candidate for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination
Herman Carroll Sr (born 1952) American fugitive
Herman Dreer (1888–1981), American academic administrator, educational reformer and activist, author, editor, minister, and civil rights leader
Herman Edwards (born 1954), known as Herm Edwards, American football player and coach
Herman Becker Fast (1887-1938), American businessman, farmer, politician
Herman Goldstein (1939–2020), American criminologist
Herman Goldstine (1913–2004), American mathematician and computer scientist
Herman W. Hellman (1843–1906), German-born American Jewish businessman
Hermann Hesse (1877-1962), German-Swiss poet, novelist, and painter
Herman Johannes (1912–1992), Indonesian professor, scientist and politician
Herman José (born 1954), Portuguese showman, singer and comedian
Herman Leenders (born 1960), Flemish writer and poet
Herman Li (李康敏 Lǐ Kāng Mǐn, born 1976), Chinese musician
Herman Lieberman (1870–1941), Polish lawyer and politician
Herman Long (disambiguation), multiple people
Herman J. Mankiewicz (1897–1953), American screenwriter
Herman Keh (郭坤耀, born 1996), Singaporean actor and model
Herman Francis Mark (1895–1992), Austrian-American chemist
Herman Melville (1819–1891), American novelist
Herman A. Metz (1867–1934), German-born -American U.S. Representative from New York and New York City Comptroller and businessman
Herman Miller (Wisconsin politician) (1833–1922), American politician
Herman Miller (writer) (1919–1999), American screenwriter and film producer
Herman Redemeijer (1930–2020), Dutch politician
Herman Salmon (1913–1980), American barnstormer, air racer, and test pilot
Herman Leonard de Silva (1928–2009), Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations
Herman Slater (1938–1992), an American Wiccan high priest
Herman Smetanin (born 1992), Ukrainian defense industry management executive
Herman Stump (1837–1917), American politician
Herman Suselbeek (born 1943), Dutch rower
Herman Terrado (born 1989), Guam-born American mixed martial artist
Herman van Bekkum (1932–2020), Dutch chemist
Herman Van der Wee (born 1928), Belgian economic historian
Herman van Praag (born 1929), Dutch psychiatrist
Herman Claudius van Riemsdijk (born 1948), Brazilian chess player
Herman Van Rompuy (born 1947), Belgian politician, first President of the European Council
Herman Van Springel (1943–2022), Belgian cyclist
Herman van Veen (born 1945), Dutch stage performer, actor, musician, singer/songwriter and author
Herman Vedel (1875–1948), Danish painter
Herman Wirth (1885–1981), Dutch-German lay historian and scholar
Herman Wouk (1915–2019), American author
Herman Zetterberg (1904–1963), Swedish jurist and politician

Stage name

Peter Noone (born 1947), English singer-songwriter and actor, stage name Herman as leader of the pop group Herman's Hermits

Fictional characters

Herman, a bug in the Disney segment Mickey and the Beanstalk
Herman Hermann, a one-armed character from the American television sitcom The Simpsons
Hermine, a character from the novel Steppenwolf
Herman Munster, from American television sitcom The Munsters
Herman Melleville, a monster from Doug's 1st Movie
Herman I Vermin, a character created by American cartoonist Marc Hempel
Herman Toothrot, from LucasArts' Monkey Island
Herman Brooks, the titular character of the American television sitcom Herman's Head
Herman the mouse, created by American animation studio Famous Studios (a.k.a. Paramount Cartoon Studios)
Herman Schultz aka Shocker, from Marvel Comics
Herman Carter/The Doctor, from the horror game Dead by Daylight

As a surname

Variants include Herrmann, Herrman, Herman, Hermann, Hermanns

Disambiguation lists

Early modern

Augustine Herman (1621–1686), Bohemian explorer of North America
Jakob Hermann (1678–1733), Swiss mathematician
Nikolaus Herman (c.1500–1561), German cantor and hymn writer

Modern

Arthur L. Herman (born 1956), American historian
Babe Herman (1903–1987), Major League Baseball right fielder
Billy Herman (1909–1992), Major League Baseball second baseman
David Herman (born 1967), American actor
Elisabeth Hermans, Belgian soprano
Faithe Herman, American actress
Hanna Herman (born 1959), Ukrainian state and political activist
Henry Herman, pen name of Henry Heydrac D'Arco (1832–1894), English dramatist and novelist
Jerry Herman (1931–2019), American composer
Josef Herman (1911–2000), Polish-British painter
Josephine Herman, Cook Islander physician
Louis Herman (1930–2016), American marine biologist
M. Justin Herman (1909–1971), American public administrator; Executive Director of the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency
Oskar Herman (1886–1974), Croatian painter
Ottó Herman (1835–1914), Hungarian zoologist, ethnographer, archaeologist, and politician
Robin Herman (1951-2022), American sports journalist
Róża Herman (1902–1995), Polish chess master
Vilim Herman (born 1949), Croatian university professor, politician and former representative in the Croatian Parliament
Woody Herman (1913–1987), American jazz clarinetist and big band leader
Yaron Herman (born 1981), Israeli jazz pianist

Fictional characters

Pee-wee Herman, played by Paul Reubens
Gunther Hermann, from the computer game Deus Ex

References

^ "Hermine". Behind the Name.
^ E. Förstemann, Altdeutsches Namenbuch (1856: p. 627).
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Katie Martin-Doyle, The Treasury of Baby Names, Worth Press, Cambridge 2005. ISBN 978-1903025116
^ E. Förstemann, Altdeutsches Namenbuch (1856:792f.)
^ "Popularity for the name Herman - Behind the Name".

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[1] "Hermine". Behind the Name.

[2] E. Förstemann, Altdeutsches Namenbuch (1856: p. 627).

[KMD-3] Jump up to: ^a ^b Katie Martin-Doyle, The Treasury of Baby Names, Worth Press, Cambridge 2005. ISBN 978-1903025116

[4] E. Förstemann, Altdeutsches Namenbuch (1856:792f.)

[5] "Popularity for the name Herman - Behind the Name".

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

Middle Ages

Early Modern

Modern

Fictional characters

As a surname

Disambiguation lists

Early modern

Modern

Fictional characters

See also

References