Herman is masculine given name, from a Germanic name consisting of the elements harja- "army" and mann- "man". It is first recorded in the 8th century, in the forms Hariman, Heriman, Hairman, Herman.
The given name was taken to England by the Normans, but it became obsolescent as an English given name in the later Middle Ages (while remaining common in Germanic languages). It regained popularity in the English-speaking world in the 19th century, particularly in the United States.
Herman remains widely used in Dutch. Variant forms include German Hermann, French Armand, Italian and Iberian Armando, Italian Ermanno.
Herman has also been in use as a German surname since the 16th century.
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". 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.
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), bishop of Ramsbury, Sherborne and Salisbury (d. 1078)
Herman of Salm (d. 1088)
Herman II, Margrave of Baden (d. 1130)
Herman van Horne, bishop of Utrecht (d. 1156)
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)
Hermann of Wied, archbishop of Cologne (1477–1552)
Herman de Lynden (1547–1603), military commander in the Eighty Years' War
Jobst Herman, Count of Lippe (1625–1678)
Herman Boerhaave (1668–1738), Dutch botanist
Herman of Alaska (1756?–1837), Russian missionary to Alaska
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.
Herman (1947-), of Herman's Hermits, also known as Peter Noone
Herman D. Aldrich (1801-1880), American businessman.
Herman Melville (1819–1891), American novelist
Herman Stump (1837 - 1917)
Herman W. Hellman (1843-1906) was a German-born Jewish businessman, banker, and real estate investor in Los Angeles, California.
Herman Lieberman (1870-1941). Polish lawyer and politician.
Herman Vedel (1875–1948), Danish painter
Herman Wirth (1885 - 1981), lay historian and scholar
Herman R. Salmon (1913-1980), American barnstormer, air racer, and test pilot
Herman Heine Goldstine (1913-2004), American mathematician and computer scientist
Herman Wouk (born 1915), American author
Herman Goldner (1916-2010), American politician
Herman van Bekkum (born 1932), Dutch chemist
Herman (Swaiko) (born 1932), former head of the Orthodox Church in America
Herman Berendsen (born 1934), Dutch chemist
Herman Bouma (born 1934), Dutch vision researcher and gerontechnologist
Herman Suselbeek (born 1943), Dutch rower
Herman Van Springel (born 1943)
Herman van Veen (born 1945) Dutch stage performer, actor, musician and singer/songwriter and author
Herman Cain (b. 1945), African-American Tea Party activist
Herman Van Rompuy (born 1947), Belgian politician, first President of the European Council
Herman Claudius van Riemsdijk (born 1948)
Herman Edwards (born 1954)
Herman Jose (born 1954), Portuguese showman, singer and comedian
Herman Li (李康敏 Lǐ Kāng Mǐn, b. 1976), Chinese musician
Herman Terrado (b. 1989), Guam-born American mixed martial artist
Herman Hermann, a one-armed character from the American television series The Simpsons
Herman Munster from 1960s television sitcom The Munsters
Herman I Vermin a character created by American cartoonist Marc Hempel
Herman Toothrot, character from LucasArts' Monkey Island
Herman's Head
Colonel Herman Dietrich, a character from the Indiana Jones film Raiders of the Lost Ark
Variants Herrmann, Herrman, Herman, Hermann, Hermanns
Early modern
Nikolaus Herman (c.1500–1561), German cantor and hymn writer
Augustine Herman (1621–1686), Bohemian explorer of North America
Jakob Hermann (1678–1733), Swiss mathematician
Modern
Henry Herman, pen name of Henry Heydrac D'Arco (1832-1894), English dramatist and novelist
Oskar Herman (1886–1974), Croatian painter
Róża Herman (1902 - 1995), Polish chess master
Jerry Herman (born 1931), American composer
Vilim Herman (born 1949), Croatian university professor, politician and former representative in the Croatian Parliament
Arthur L. Herman (born 1956), American historian
Hanna Herman (b. 1959), Ukrainian state and political activist
Babe Herman, Major League Baseball right fielder
Billy Herman, Major League Baseball second baseman
David Herman, American actor
Elisabeth Hermans, Belgian soprano
Woody Herman, American jazz clarinetist and big band leader
Yaron Herman, Israeli jazz pianist
see also:
Edward Herman (disambiguation)
Robert Herman (disambiguation)
Tom Herman (disambiguation)
Pee-wee Herman, a character played by actor Paul Reubens
