Forrest
Feminine · “Latin foris”
Forrest is given to boys far more often — 53,639 boys against 1,058 girls since 1880. See Forrest as a boy name
A forest did not have to have trees. In medieval law a forest was land placed outside the common law and under forest law, reserved for the king's hunting, and the word comes from Latin foris, outside. Heath, moor and farmland could all be forest. The trees are an association, not a definition.
How old is the name Forrest?
Forrest first appears in US birth records in 1887 — 138 years ago. The typical Forrest alive today was born around 1944, making them about 81 years old. About 500 people named Forrest are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Forrest most popular?
Forrest peaked in 1890, reaching #872 nationally. Today it ranks #8362, 7,490 places below that high. See the whole 1890 chart.
Where it comes from
From foris to Forrest
The story of Forrest
William the Conqueror imposed forest law on large parts of England and his successors extended it until roughly a quarter of the country was under it. Inside a royal forest, the deer and the vegetation that supported them were protected, and the penalties for interfering with either were severe: blinding and mutilation are recorded for poaching. The people living in these areas were not removed, but their rights over their own land were curtailed, and resentment at forest law is one of the grievances behind Magna Carta and the separate Charter of the Forest of 1217. The New Forest, created by William for hunting, still carries the name though it is now largely open heath. So the word's modern sense, a large wood, is a narrowing of a legal term about jurisdiction, and the doubled r of the surname is the standard English device for keeping the preceding vowel short.
Meaning
Latin foris, outside
From Medieval Latin forestis silva, the outside wood, from foris, outside or out of doors, referring to land outside the ordinary jurisdiction. The English surname Forrest, with a doubled r, was given to someone who lived by or worked in one. As a given name it was used for both sexes in the nineteenth century and peaks for girls in 1890.
How the name formed
- foris
- forestis
- Forrest
Related forms: Forest · Foret
Pronouncing Forrest
FOR-ist
Two syllables, stress on the first. The doubled r keeps the first vowel short in careful speech, though most American speakers say Forrest and forest identically.
Nicknames for Forrest
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
- 1887
- Most girls named
- 199322 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #872reached in 1890
- Change vs 2023
- −42.9%12 in 2025, from 21
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.
Forrest in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Forest in English — spelling variant
- Foret in French — related form
Forrests among us
people named Forrest are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 133,939 born in 2025 was named Forrest
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Forrest
- #8362
- Forrest on the 2025 chart
- #936
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Forrest went to 12 girls in 2025, but Forest is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 24, which makes it the 936th most-given girls’ name of the year — 7,426 places above the chart.
- Forest12
- Forrest12
About 1 girl in 66,969 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 133,939 for Forrest itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Forrest 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
Forrest beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Forrest in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The etymology is documented and genuinely surprising.
- It has a nineteenth-century history of use for both sexes.
- The word behind it is familiar and pleasant.
- It is read as male in every modern American context.
- A Confederate general and Klan leader carried the surname.
- Forest with one r is a competing spelling in the same records.
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Forrest
Feminine · #8362 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Forrests are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 500 people named Forrest are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Forrest?
- Forrest is one of 2 recorded spellings. Forest is the more common one — 12 births in 2025 against 12 for Forrest.
- How popular is the name Forrest in 2025?
- Forrest ranks #8362 among US girl names in 2025, with 12 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Forrest?
- About 1 in every 133,939 US girls born in 2025 was named Forrest — 12 in all.
- Will my child share the name Forrest with classmates?
- Forrest will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Forrest
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Lona#8362 · Peggy#8362 · Leda#8362 · Margarette#8362 · Rella#8362 · Evalena#8362 · Vashti#8362 · Nona#8362
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Forrest? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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