Head to head · Boys' names
Forrest vs Franklin
#374 vs #359 in 2025
Franklin is a whisker ahead (#359 vs #374 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Franklin is holding its place on the charts, Forrest is back after a long quiet spell. On momentum, Forrest has the edge.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Franklin leads 4 measures of 6; Forrest leads 1.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Forrest #269, Franklin #127 — Franklin higher
- 1890s: Forrest #202, Franklin #157 — Franklin higher
- 1900s: Forrest #202, Franklin #165 — Franklin higher
- 1910s: Forrest #186, Franklin #136 — Franklin higher
- 1920s: Forrest #200, Franklin #135 — Franklin higher
- 1930s: Forrest #258, Franklin #86 — Franklin higher
- 1940s: Forrest #294, Franklin #125 — Franklin higher
- 1950s: Forrest #339, Franklin #166 — Franklin higher
- 1960s: Forrest #417, Franklin #194 — Franklin higher
- 1970s: Forrest #471, Franklin #232 — Franklin higher
- 1980s: Forrest #466, Franklin #268 — Franklin higher
- 1990s: Forrest #423, Franklin #351 — Franklin higher
- 2000s: Forrest #1020, Franklin #468 — Franklin higher
- 2010s: Forrest #794, Franklin #464 — Franklin higher
- 2020s: Forrest #414, Franklin #395 — Franklin higher
Franklin stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Forrest | Franklin |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #269 | #127 |
| 1890s | #202 | #157 |
| 1900s | #202 | #165 |
| 1910s | #186 | #136 |
| 1920s | #200 | #135 |
| 1930s | #258 | #86 |
| 1940s | #294 | #125 |
| 1950s | #339 | #166 |
| 1960s | #417 | #194 |
| 1970s | #471 | #232 |
| 1980s | #466 | #268 |
| 1990s | #423 | #351 |
| 2000s | #1020 | #468 |
| 2010s | #794 | #464 |
| 2020s | #414 | #395 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Forrest
of the forest; someone who lived by or worked in woodland
From Old French forest, itself from Medieval Latin forestis — originally the wood outside the enclosed estate, later the king's wood. The double r is the surname spelling; the single-r Forest is the ordinary English word.
forestis (Medieval Latin) → forest (Old French) → Forrest (English and Scottish surname) → Forrest (American given name)
How it traveled
The word came into English from Old French after the Norman Conquest, and by the Middle Ages it had become a surname across England and Scotland for people who lived beside woodland or held office in it. American families began using that surname as a first name in the nineteenth century, when honoring a family or local name this way was ordinary practice.
Franklin
a free landholder
The word means a freeman holding land but not of noble rank, built on the same root as free with a French ending. The reading is settled and the social rank is well documented.
frankeleyn → Franklin
How it traveled
Chaucer's Franklin is wealthy, hospitable and slightly anxious about status. His table is described as standing ready all day, his larder stocked with partridge and pike, and the poet says it snowed meat and drink in his house.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Forrest
FOR-ist
Two syllables, stress on the first — identical to the word forest. Some speakers say FAHR-ist. No one needs it explained twice.
- Forry — The one short form with real use, mostly within families and among people who have known the bearer a long time.
- Fozzy — A playground and teammate nickname rather than anything a person would write down.
Franklin
FRANK-lin
Two syllables with the stress in front. Nothing in it invites hesitation.
- Frank — The commonest short form; a full name in its own right.
- Lin — The back of the name used alone; works for a child of either sex.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Forrest if you want…
- a name fewer children share#374 in 2025 — forrest will almost certainly be the only one in school
- a name on the way upup 88 places on the charts in five years
Choose Franklin if you want…
- a name most people already know#359 in 2025, 909 babies that year
- a name holding steadyFranklin is holding its place on the charts
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Forrest
Strengths
- Pronounced exactly as it looks, because it is an ordinary English word — no correcting strangers, no phonetic spelling on forms.
- An unbroken presence in US records since the charts began, which puts it outside the rise-and-crash cycle that catches newer names.
- A nature name with real age behind it, unlike most of the woodland and weather names that arrived in the last few decades.
To consider
- Forrest and Forest are both real spellings, and the single-r version is the dictionary word, so expect a lifetime of confirming which one. Saying "two r's" becomes automatic fairly quickly.
- The 1994 film Forrest Gump is the first thing many Americans will think of, and quoting it at your child is a fair bet. That association has softened with time but has not gone anywhere.
- Nathan Bedford Forrest, the Confederate cavalry general and first leader of the Ku Klux Klan, is why a good many American boys were given this name in earlier generations. It is worth knowing that some people, particularly in the South, still make the connection.
Franklin
Strengths
- The meaning is settled and documented, with a medieval social rank behind it.
- Frank is available as a short form from the first day and needs no explaining.
- It has an unbroken record in American use going back to the start of the statistics.
To consider
- Two American presidents and one founder carry the name, which is a great deal of association to arrive with.
- In America it reads as belonging to an older generation, which is either the appeal or the obstacle.
- This spelling goes overwhelmingly to boys but is recorded for girls as well, so a form will occasionally guess wrong.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Forrest and Franklin in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Forrest and Franklin?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
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More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
- Vintage names making a comeback
- Grandmother-chic: 1920s names ready to return
- Nature names in real use
- Names with a double letter
- all guides
Where Forrest and Franklin each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Forrest or Franklin — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Forrest or Franklin?
- Franklin, in 2025: Franklin ranked #359 with 909 babies; Forrest ranked #374 with 850 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Forrest or Franklin?
- Forrest. Over the last five years Forrest moved up 88 places; Franklin moved up 55 places.
- Which is the older name, Forrest or Franklin?
- The US record cannot say: both were already in use when it began in 1880.
- How many people are named Forrest and Franklin?
- About 31,500 people named Forrest are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 77,500 people named Franklin are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Forrests or Franklins in the classroom?
- Forrest will almost certainly be the only one in school. Franklin will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
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