MEANING & HISTORY
What does Herman mean?
Herman is a Germanic name combining army with man. English and continental European forms contributed to its naming history, including German Hermann.
The root man belongs to the historical compound rather than defining a modern gender role. Herman should not be confused with Latin Germanus, brother, despite occasional spelling confusion in records and different languages.
References for this explanation
Pronunciation & syllables
Dictionary readings are kept by language. Select the reading that matches your intended pronunciation. Dots show the source’s written divisions; they are not a universal syllable count across languages.
Wiktionary contributors / Kaikki / Wiktextract · CC BY-SA 4.0
Origin and name formation
Language-specific accounts from the dictionary. A shared spelling can have more than one history.
EnglishEtymology & source
From Old English here (“army”) + man (“man”) It was revived in the 19th century, partly due to American immigrants from continental Europe where the name has been more popular. Compare the German equivalent Hermann.
A male given name from the Germanic languages.
Wiktionary: Herman (English) ↗ · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
Adapted from Wiktionary contributors via Kaikki/Wiktextract. Source accounts remain in their original English; editorial summaries and filters are adapted. Attribution and downloads
People with the name Herman
Public figures and other documented namesakes linked by an explicit given-name claim. This is a selection of records, not a popularity ranking.
DOCUMENTED NAMESAKE
Herman Suizo
Filipino athletics competitor
The record establishes the name association, not the person’s intended meaning, pronunciation or ancestry. Descriptions are attributed to Wikidata contributors (CC0).
Use in Philippine-linked records
Public-record transcription
5
eligible source records · 2001
This spelling is reported in an openly licensed transcription of elected-candidate records. This is a record count, not a birth count or national popularity measure.
OpenHalalan / COMELEC ↗Wikidata
3
distinct person records with an explicit given-name claim
Community-edited coverage, not a census or birth registry. Examples: Herman Suizo, Herman Tiu-Laurel
PSA · OFFICIAL BIRTH RECORDS
Herman in the birth records
Exact spelling and stated year in the published name tables. Read the counts as individual snapshots.
Tables included: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024. The 2016 fact sheet lists five names per sex; the later tables include ten. Missing counts are not inferred. Sex categories follow the official tables, independently of dictionary gender labels. Explore the official tables →
Similar names to Herman
Names with a similar opening or ending, ordered by spelling distance. Similar spelling does not imply the same meaning or origin.
Names in this collection
- German♂Form of Germanus; brother
- Germán♂Spanish form of Germanus; brother
- Hernan·Ferdinand-family form: journey or peace + boldness
- Arman♂Cebuano Armand/Armando shortening; Persian wish-name also exists
- Eman♂Faith, in the Arabic Iman tradition
- Hermes·Greek divine name with disputed boundary-marker or earlier roots
- Hermie♂♀Familiar form with several documented Herm-name bases
- Hermina·Hermine form in the Herman name family
What rhymes with Herman?
No dictionary-confirmed rhyme match is available for this spelling in the current catalogue.
Names with a similar written ending
Spelling suggestions; these are not verified phonetic rhymes.
Recorded combinations with Herman
1 source-reported compound forms include this name as a component. Each part keeps its own history.
Names in this collection
Explore combinations →Explore Herman further
Follow the sources
- OpenHalalan — pinned 2001 COMELEC transcription (opens in a new tab)
Source-reported given-name form in a row with a separate explicit middle initial; ODbL-1.0.
- COMELEC — 2001 List of Elected Candidates (opens in a new tab)
Original document identified by the transcription; selected PDF entries were spot-checked, not every imported row.
- Wikidata given-name item Q16276646 — Herman (opens in a new tab)
Given-name identity, native labels, language associations and explicit class where present; not lexical meaning or population frequency.
- Wikidata — Herman Suizo (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name claim P735 linking to Q16276646 and citizenship claim P27 linking to Philippines Q928; community-edited evidence, not a civil-registry record.
- Wikidata — Herman Tiu-Laurel (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name claim P735 linking to Q16276646 and citizenship claim P27 linking to Philippines Q928; community-edited evidence, not a civil-registry record.
- Wiktionary contributors — Herman (English) (opens in a new tab)
Language-specific given-name etymology; shared spelling does not prove every bearer has this origin.
- Wiktionary: Herman (opens in a new tab)
Personal-name formation and etymological relationships; imported dictionary account consulted.