Hermione has 1,744 total SSA uses at rank 1,672 — a name that spent most of the 20th century as a rarefied literary and classical curiosity before J.K. Rowling turned it into one of the most recognizable names in global fiction. Even so, it has never become common, which is almost certainly part of its appeal.
The Greek origin: daughter of Helen
Hermione is the feminine form of Hermes, the Greek messenger god, but its more immediate classical source is Hermione of Sparta — the daughter of Menelaus and Helen of Troy. The name appears in Homer's Odyssey and in Euripides' tragedies, and it remained in use in ancient Greece and in Byzantine culture. In English literary tradition, Shakespeare used it for the queen in The Winter's Tale, one of his most nobly drawn female characters, giving the name its first wave of English cultural presence. Parents exploring Greek-origin names will find Hermione has continuous, documented use from antiquity through the present — a genuine classical name, not a modern construction.
Hermione Granger and the fiction effect
When Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was published in 1997, Hermione Granger was an unusual choice — J.K. Rowling has said she chose it precisely because it was obscure and bookish, matching the character's personality. The effect on naming was slower than most celebrity-character surges: parents waited until their children who grew up reading the books started having children of their own. That now-adult fan generation is driving the name's current trickle of use. Compare the much larger wave produced by Luna (also from the Harry Potter series) — Luna is phonetically simpler, which explains the gap.
The parent profile: a name for committed Potterheads
Parents who choose Hermione are, almost without exception, making a deliberate, knowing choice. The name is long (four syllables), slightly awkward to spell for outsiders, and immediately legible as a fan statement. That's a feature, not a bug, for the parents who love it. It pairs well with short, one-syllable middle names — Hermione Rose, Hermione Jane, Hermione Claire. Sibling names tend to stay in the literary-classical register: Minerva, Luna, Thea, Caspian.