Head to head · Boys' names
Forrest vs Kayce
#374 vs #375 in 2025
Forrest is a whisker ahead (#374 vs #375 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Forrest is back after a long quiet spell, Kayce is climbing the charts fast. On momentum, Kayce 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, Forrest leads 5 measures of 6; Kayce 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, Kayce — — Forrest higher
- 1890s: Forrest #202, Kayce — — Forrest higher
- 1900s: Forrest #202, Kayce — — Forrest higher
- 1910s: Forrest #186, Kayce — — Forrest higher
- 1920s: Forrest #200, Kayce — — Forrest higher
- 1930s: Forrest #258, Kayce — — Forrest higher
- 1940s: Forrest #294, Kayce — — Forrest higher
- 1950s: Forrest #339, Kayce — — Forrest higher
- 1960s: Forrest #417, Kayce — — Forrest higher
- 1970s: Forrest #471, Kayce — — Forrest higher
- 1980s: Forrest #466, Kayce #6229 — Forrest higher
- 1990s: Forrest #423, Kayce #7423 — Forrest higher
- 2000s: Forrest #1020, Kayce #9121 — Forrest higher
- 2010s: Forrest #794, Kayce #5746 — Forrest higher
- 2020s: Forrest #414, Kayce #783 — Forrest higher
Forrest stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Forrest | Kayce |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #269 | — |
| 1890s | #202 | — |
| 1900s | #202 | — |
| 1910s | #186 | — |
| 1920s | #200 | — |
| 1930s | #258 | — |
| 1940s | #294 | — |
| 1950s | #339 | — |
| 1960s | #417 | — |
| 1970s | #471 | — |
| 1980s | #466 | #6229 |
| 1990s | #423 | #7423 |
| 2000s | #1020 | #9121 |
| 2010s | #794 | #5746 |
| 2020s | #414 | #783 |
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.
Kayce
vigilant, watchful — by way of the Irish surname Casey
The mainstream reading traces Casey to the Irish Ó Cathasaigh, 'descendant of Cathasach', from cathasach, 'vigilant' or 'watchful'. The K-spelling is also read a second way: as the spoken initials K.C., a nickname pattern long attached to men called Casey and to people with those two initials. Both readings are genuinely in circulation, and the spelling itself does not settle the question.
Cathasach → Ó Cathasaigh → Casey → Kayce
How it traveled
Cathasach was an Irish byname before it was anyone's surname; families descended from a man of that name became Ó Cathasaigh, anglicized to Casey. Emigration carried the surname to the United States in the nineteenth century, where, like Kelly, Riley and Ryan, it slid from last name to first.
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.
Kayce
KAY-see
Stress on the first syllable. The spelling is transparent — almost everyone reads it right the first time, even if they then write it as Casey.
- KC — Written as initials or spoken as two letters; also used on its own by adults who go by nothing else.
- Kay — Informal clipping, more often heard within families than outside them.
- Case — Informal short form carried over from Casey; used mostly by friends and teammates.
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 with more sound in itForrest runs 2 syllables, Kayce 1
- a long American recordForrest was already in use when US records began in 1880
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 30% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 65% for Kayce
Choose Kayce if you want…
- a name on the way upup 1,402 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesKayce is 1 syllable to Forrest's 2
- a newer arrivalKayce entered the US charts in 1989
- a name that feels very nowKayce is climbing the charts fast
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.
Kayce
Strengths
- Reads correctly on sight: KAY-see is what the letters say, so it is rarely mispronounced.
- The sound is long-established through Casey, so it is instantly familiar aloud even where the spelling is not.
- Two syllables, no clusters, and it survives being shouted across a playing field.
To consider
- It will be written as Casey or Kasey by strangers for life. The sound is common; this arrangement of letters is not, so expect a lifetime of spelling it out.
- Much of the recent momentum comes from one television character. Names that ride a single show can date to that era once the show ends — worth knowing, not necessarily worth avoiding.
- Casey is thoroughly unisex in American use, and the sound carries that with it. This spelling leans male in the records, but people meeting the name on paper won't reliably assume either way.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Forrest
30%chance Forrest feels dated by 2040
Forrest is on its second act. Revived names age gently: the generation that wore them first is far enough away that the name feels classic rather than dated.
Kayce
65%chance Kayce feels dated by 2040
Kayce is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
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 Kayce 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 Kayce?
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 Kayce each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Forrest or Kayce — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Forrest or Kayce?
- Forrest, in 2025: Forrest ranked #374 with 850 babies; Kayce ranked #375 with 843 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Forrest or Kayce?
- Kayce. Over the last five years Forrest moved up 88 places; Kayce moved up 1,402 places.
- Which is the older name, Forrest or Kayce?
- Forrest was already in use when US records began in 1880; Kayce entered the US charts in 1989. On the American record, Forrest is the older name.
- How many people are named Forrest and Kayce?
- About 31,500 people named Forrest are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 3,300 people named Kayce are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Forrests or Kayces in the classroom?
- Forrest will almost certainly be the only one in school. Kayce 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
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up Forrest, Kayce and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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