Herb

Where Herb comes from

The dictionaries list Herb as a given name — a diminutive of the male given name Herbert — but don't trace where it came from. The record below is what the SSA data shows.

  • 1 syllable
Along the way
  1. 1884
    Debut at its peak, #764
    #764 among boys with 7 babies — the first year it was published, and still its best.
  2. 1885
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births.
  3. 1921
    Herb Ellis born
    American jazz guitarist
  4. 1922
    Herb McKenley born
    Jamaican Sprinter
In the dictionary
  • A diminutive of the male given name Herbert.
Namesakes
  • Herb McKenley · Jamaican Sprinter, 1922–2007
  • Herb Ellis · American jazz guitarist, 1921–2010
  • Herb Jeffries · American singer and actor, 1913–2014
  • Herb Edelman · American actor, 1933–1996
  • Herb Brooks · American ice hockey player and coach, 1937–2003

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.