Arrow
Feminine · “arrow”
Arrow is given to both — 858 girls and 1,717 boys since 1880. See Arrow as a boy nameSee other names given to both
Arrow is the English word, and it is one of the older ones — arwe goes back to a root shared with the Latin arcus, a bow.
How old is the name Arrow?
Arrow first appears in US birth records in 2007 — 18 years ago. The typical Arrow is a kid of about 6 — this name's wave is very recent. About 900 people named Arrow are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Arrow most popular?
Arrow peaked in 2018, reaching #1830 nationally. Today it ranks #3975, 2,145 places below that high. See the whole 2018 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From arwe to Arrow
The story of Arrow
Arwe is Old English and the word has stayed almost unchanged for a thousand years. Its use as a given name is very recent — it belongs with the small set of object names that entered American records in the 2010s, alongside Wilder, Rebel and Sailor — and it is given to both sexes, though more often to girls.
Meaning
arrow
From Old English arwe, from a Germanic root; the wider Indo-European root behind it also gives Latin arcus, a bow, and arrows are among the oldest human technologies with a continuous name.
How the name formed
- arwe
- arrow
Related forms: Flecha · Sagitta
Pronouncing Arrow
AIR-oh
Two syllables, first stressed. There is no variation in English.
Nicknames for Arrow
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 2007
- Most girls named
- 2018111 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1830reached in 2018
- Change vs 2024
- −23.4%36 in 2025, from 47
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Arrow in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Flecha in Spanish — related form
- Sagitta in Latin — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Florida.
Arrows among us
people named Arrow are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 44,646 born in 2025 was named Arrow
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Brienna test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Arrow's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Brienna climbed just as high around 1992, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Brienna's path sketches the road Arrow is walking now.
Arrow sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Arrow is headed
Arrow is easing off slowly — about 25% fewer babies a year by 2030 if the trend continues. Its history is short or jumpy, though, so read this as a sketch rather than a promise.
Low confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Arrow beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Arrow in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- An ordinary English word, so nobody has to be taught to say or spell it.
- Five letters and two syllables, quick to write.
- Ari is a usable short form in current use.
- It names a weapon, which some will find an odd thing to call a child.
- It is used for both sexes, so forms may guess wrong.
- It is a common word and will be read as one rather than as a name at first.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Arrow to the vote.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Arrow
Feminine · #3975 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Arrows are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 900 people named Arrow are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Arrow in 2025?
- Arrow ranks #3975 among US girl names in 2025, with 36 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Arrow?
- About 1 in every 44,646 US girls born in 2025 was named Arrow — 36 in all.
- Will my child share the name Arrow with classmates?
- Arrow will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Arrow
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Rubie#3975 · Bradley#3975 · Jodi#3975 · An#3975 · Ilianna#3975 · Saja#3975 · Ansleigh#3975 · Dorcas#3975
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Arrow? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Arrow and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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