Forrest

What Forrest means

Means “forest”

Also adopted and translated from the word for "forest" in various other languages by settlers.

Source: Wiktionary, “Forrest” (revision 94539360), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Forrest?

US: Rising: up from #660 in 2015. England & Wales: Rising: up from #1327 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 1907, when 115 boys got the name (#187 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 2,010 baby boys in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 3,316 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 3,274 baby boys in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in ME (2.6 per 1,000 boys), ND (2.09 per 1,000 boys), KY (1.31 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed boys born in each state.

US vs UK

Forrest is #374 in the US and #474 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (boys). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 98.6% of US babies named Forrest were boys.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

Other spellings

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Forest344 US · 37 E&W

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Forrest

Boys

• Franklin#359“freeholder”^*
• Sterling#345Variant of Stirling, possibly meaning “stream + pool, lake”^*
• Wesley#52“west + wood, clearing”^*
• Wade#344“a ford”^*
• Jay#392“victory”^*
• Leroy#883“the king”^*

For a sister

• Darcy#857“to burn, consume”^*
• Kori#978Form of Corey, possibly meaning “troop, host, company”^*
• Fallon#778“descendant of Fallamhan”^*
• Chandler#895Editor’s note 296 US babies in 2025, but under 3 in England & Wales
• Murphy#397“descendant of Murrough”^*
• Blake#295“black”^*

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under From a surname, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Forrest’s. Rank is US 2025.