Hirsch Family History

German: from Middle High German hir(t)z ‘deer’, ‘stag’; a metonymic occupational name for a keeper of deer, a nickname for someone thought to resemble a deer or stag, or a habitational name for someone who lived at a house distinguished by the sign of a stag. Jewish (Ashkenazic): from the Yiddish male personal name Hirsh ‘deer’, which is common because of the association of the deer with the Hebrew personal name Naphtali, deriving from the blessing by Jacob of his sons (Genesis 49: 21), in which Naphtali is referred to as ‘a hind let loose’. Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name from German Hirsch or Yiddish hirsh ‘deer’, one of the many Ashkenazic surnames taken from vocabulary words denoting wildlife.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names ©2013, Oxford University Press