It was found on April 20th, 1904, by Max Wolf in Heidelberg, and initially catalogued as 1904 NY. Where its name came from is not known; it may be named after the mythical Hercules, or after an unknown woman of that name. Most of the asteroids found by Wolf around this date were named for characters in operas, but if this name was also drawn from such a source, no explanation has been recorded.