Given name & surname
Ercole
“a splendid gift”
Ercole is used as a given name and a surname. One Italian interpretation is “a splendid gift.”
Original ItalianErcolini
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Italian interpretation is “a splendid gift.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Italian.
How it developed
In Italian use, Ercole is used as a form of Hercules.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1914. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Ercole is a form of Hercules. The history of Hercules gives this family its wider story. In mythological stories, Hercules is associated with a son of Zeus.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Ercole through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 65
- 65 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1923
- 9 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 5 in 1940. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 9 in 1923. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 110 as a first name in 2020; 388 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Ercole’s family of names
Ercole developed from Hercules. Ercole has a related form in Ercoleo. Ercole is a form of Hercules.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Ercole has relatives in 4 languages. Lines run from its Italian roots to each of them.
Italianwhere Ercole comes from · 1 name
Nicknames & forms 5
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 7
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Ercole
- Ercole I d'EsteDuke of Ferrara from 1471 to 15051431–1505
- Ercole II d'EsteItalian noble (1508-1559)
- Ercole BaldiniItalian professional road racing cyclist (1933–2022)
- Ercole III d'EsteItalian noble (1727–1803)
- Ercole de' RobertiItalian Renaissance painter (1450-1496)
- Ercole ConsalviCatholic cardinal (1757-1824)
- Ercole OlgeniItalian rower (1883–1947)
- Ercole GonzagaCatholic cardinal1505–1563
- Ercole DembowskiItalian astronomer (1812-1881)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Ercole, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Scipio
“a legendary general” · “a great leader”
>99% boys
Paladio
“a follower of the goddess Athena”
>99% boys
Thorvald
“follower of Thor”
>99% boys
Deane
“from the valley; a church official”
>99% boys
Epyone
—
Etayne
—
Herculee
“glory of Hera”
—
Eponah
—