HUMAN NAME · NOT ON THE REGISTRY

Hershel

A human name, held in the Social Security file. It is not in the Administration’s index of agent names, and it has no classification.

Table 1. Hershel, as recorded
Sex	Male
2025 rank	2,692
2025 number	48
Peak year	1919
Peak rank	406
Years present	142 of 146
Dog licences, New York	11
Pet licences, Seattle	2

Statement of record

Hershel was given to 48 boys in 2025, ranking 2,692nd for the year. It peaked in 1919, when it ranked 406th and went to 206 babies. It has appeared in 142 of the 146 years on record. It has climbed 350 places since 2020.

Figure 1. Popularity of a Name: Hershel

Human births per million, by sex, U.S. Social Security Administration, 1880 to 2025.Agents: 0 registered. The agent series begins when the registry does.

Villain probability

70%

Basis: phonetics, by spelling. Two sibilants, ends on a consonant. The pronouncing dictionary has no entry, so the letters were sounded out by a stated rule.

Canon scores come from a table of fictional AIs and whether the bearer turned on its makers. Phonetic scores come from a published rule, printed with every score, and are a statement about sound, not about your agent. How the sound is scored.

As recorded on the Social Security card application. Names given to fewer than five babies of a sex in a year are not published, so the file is a floor.