Herman is the deepest cut in the old-man-name revival category — deeper than Earl, further back than Walter, somehow more committed than Bernard. At rank 1301 in the pet registry, Herman on a dog is a statement of confident eccentricity: the owner is not trying to be cool, they're trying to be honest about the fact that they love this name and don't care what anyone thinks.
The Old Man Name Pantheon
Herman peaked in American naming around 1900 and has been largely absent from human birth certificates since the 1960s. That 60-year gap makes it genuinely unusual without being foreign — everyone knows how to say it, nobody is currently named it. English Bulldogs and Mastiffs — older-looking dogs with the right gravitas — carry Herman with complete conviction. The human name at /names/herman covers the Germanic etymology (army man).
Herman Melville and the Literary Line
Herman Melville wrote Moby-Dick, which gives the name a literary gravity that owners who chose it for that reason are usually happy to mention. The joke is good: a dog named Herman who is passionate and slightly monomaniacal about a specific ball or toy is a complete Melville reference. Whether the owner made the connection or just liked the sound, the name delivers on both levels.
The Counter-Reading
Herman requires complete conviction. You cannot half-commit to this name. Owners who second-guess it will find it slightly heavy every time they call it at the vet. Owners who love it (and they exist in meaningful numbers) report that it suits their dog perfectly and generates the right kind of conversation. Compare Earl or Gus for lower-commitment entries into the same category.