Hermes was among other things, the messenger of the gods in the Greek pantheon. I'd guess they were thinking of that as the context for the name. Of course, he

Hermes was among other things, the messenger of the gods in the Greek pantheon. I'd guess they were thinking of that as the context for the name. Of course, he also the psychopomp, the god who guided dead souls to the underworld. That might also be appropriate for documents many of which are dead from day 1.