Herschel (name) explained

Herschel, Herschell, Herschelle or Hershel is a given name and a surname of German and Jewish origins. Notable people with the name include:

Given name

• Herschel W. Arant (1887–1941), American legal academic
• Herschel Austin (1911–1974), British furniture-maker and politician
• Benjamin Herschel Babbage (1815–1878), South Australian explorer
• Herschel Baltimore (1921–1968), American basketball player
• Herschel "Guy" Beahm IV (born 1982), American Twitch streamer and internet celebrity known as Dr DisRespect
• Walter Herschel Beech (1891–1950), American aviator
• Herschel Bennett (1896–1964), American baseball player
• Herschel Bernardi (1923–1986), American actor
• Richard Hershel Bloom (born 1953), U.S. politician from California
• Herschel F. Briles (1914–1994), U.S. Army soldier and Medal of Honor recipient
• Herschel Bullen (1870–1966), American businessman
• Herschel Burgess, American college football player
• Herschel Caldwell (1903–1989), American college football player
• Herschel L. Carnahan (1879–1941), U.S. politician from California
• Herschel W. Cleveland (born 1946), U.S. politician from Arkansas
• Herschel H. Cudd (1912–1992), American chemist
• Herschel Daugherty (1910–1993), American film and television director
• Hershel Dennis (born 1984), American football player
• Robert Herschel Donaldson (born 1943) American political scientist
• Herschel Evans (1909–1939), American saxophonist
• Herschel Forester (1931–2018), American football player
• Herschel Friday (1922–1994), American lawyer
• Herschel Garfein, American composer
• Herschel Burke Gilbert (1918–2003), American composer
• Herschelle Gibbs (born 1974), South African cricketer
• John Herschel Glenn (1921–2016), American astronaut
• Herschel Gluck, British rabbi
• Hershel W. Gober (born 1936), former U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs
• Harry Golden (1902–1981), born Herschel Goldhirsch, American newspaper publisher
• David Herschel Goodman, American television writer and producer
• Herschel Green (1920–2006), American flying ace
• Hershel Greene, fictional character from The Walking Dead series
• Herschel Lynn Greer (1906–1976), American businessman
• Michael Herschel Greger (born 1972), American physician
• Herschel Grynszpan (1921 – after 1942), assassin of German diplomat Ernst vom Rath
• Herschel Hardin (born 1936), Canadian political activist
• Herschel H. Hatch (1837–1920), U.S. politician from Michigan
• Herschel M. Hogg (1853–1934), U.S. politician from Colorado
• Herschel Lee Howell (1912–1990), Canadian politician from Saskatchewan
• Herschel Johnson (1894–1966), U.S. diplomat from North Carolina
• Herschel V. Jones (1861–1928), American newspaper publisher
• Herschel Krustofski, fictional character from The Simpsons, better known as "Krusty The Clown"
• Herschel Lashkowitz (1918–1993), U.S. politician from North Dakota
• William Hershel Lattimore (1884–1919), American baseball player
• Hershel Layton, protagonist of the Professor Layton fictional universe
• Herschel Leibowitz (1925–2011), American psychologist
• Herschell Gordon Lewis (1929–2016), a U.S. filmmaker, dubbed the Godfather of Gore
• Herschel C. Loveless (1911–1989), 34th governor of Iowa
• Patrick Jermaine Herschel van Luijk (born 1984), Dutch sprinter
• Hershel Ray Martin (1909–1980), American baseball player
• Heinrich Marx (1777–1838), born Herschel Mordechai, Prussian lawyer and father of Karl Marx
• Godlen Herschelle Derrick Masimla (born 1992), South African rugby player
• Hershel Matt (1922–1987), American rabbi
• Herschel Mayall (1863–1941), American actor
• Herschel McCoy (1912–1956), American costume designer
• Hershel McGriff (born 1927), American stock car racer
• Clifford Herschel Moore (1866–1931), American Latin scholar
• Hershel of Ostropol, a prominent figure in Jewish humor
• Hershel Parker, American literary historian
• Herschel Clifford Parker (1867–1931), American physicist
• Hershel Reichman (born 1944), American rabbi
• Herschel L. Roman (1914–1989), American geneticist
• Herschel Rosenthal (1918–2009), U.S. politician from California
• Hershel Schachter (born 1941), American rabbi
• Herschel Schacter (1917–2013), American rabbi
• C. Herschel Schooley (1900–1985), American newspaper editor
• Hershel Shanks (1930–2021), American archeologist
• William Hershel Sharpe (born 1951), American television anchor
• Herschel Sims (born 1991), American football player
• Herschel Smith (1900–1964), American wrestler
• Herschel Curry Smith (1903–1983), American track coach and athlete
• Herschel Stockton (1913–1965), American football player
• Arn Herschel Tellem (born 1954), American businessman
• Herschell Turner (born 1938), American basketball player
• Herschel Vespasian Johnson (1812–1880), U.S. politician from Georgia
• Herschel Walker (born 1962), American football player and politician
• Eli Herschel Wallach (1915–2014), American actor
• Herschel Weingrod (born 1947), American screenwriter
• Hershel W. Williams (1923–2022), U.S. marine and Medal of Honor recipient
• Roger Herschel Zion (1921–2019), U.S. politician from Indiana

Surname

The name is closely tied to the Herschel family, an Anglo-German family of astronomers:

• William Herschel (1738–1822), astronomer and composer, discoverer of Uranus
• Caroline Herschel (1750–1848), astronomer and singer, sister of Sir William Herschel
• John Herschel (1792–1871), mathematician and astronomer, son of Sir William Herschel
• Alexander Stewart Herschel (1836–1907), astronomer, grandson of Sir William Herschel
• William James Herschel (1833–1917), Indian Civil Service officer, grandson of Sir William Herschel
• John Herschel the Younger (1837–1921), military engineer, surveyor and astronomer, grandson of Sir William Herschel

Other notable people with the surname include:

• Clemens Herschel (1842–1930), American hydraulic engineer
• May Herschel-Clarke (1850–1950), English poet
• Allan Herschell (1851–1927), creator of amusement park rides
• Farrer Herschell, 1st Baron Herschell (1837–1899), former Lord Chancellor of Great Britain
• Richard Herschell, 2nd Baron Herschell (1878–1929), British politician
• Ridley Haim Herschell (1807–1864), Anglo-Polish minister
• Rognvald Herschell, 3rd Baron Herschell (1923–2008), British politician
• Solomon Hirschell (1762–1842), British rabbi