Renner
Masculine · “runner”
Renner is given to both — 602 boys and 31 girls since 1880. See other names given to both
Renner is a German occupational surname for a runner — and in the Middle Ages a runner was a job: the man who carried messages on foot between towns, before the post existed.
How old is the name Renner?
Renner first appears in US birth records in 1999 — 26 years ago. The typical Renner is a kid of about 9 — this name's wave is very recent. About 600 people named Renner are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Renner most popular?
Renner peaked in 2018, reaching #2848 nationally. Today it ranks #3240, 392 places below that high. See the whole 2018 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From rennen to Renner
The story of Renner
German towns employed men to carry messages, and the word for them became a family name in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries — Renner, Läufer and Bote all belong to that group. The surname came to America with German emigration in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and is common in Pennsylvania and the Midwest. Its use as a given name is very recent and belongs to the American fashion for surnames in front, helped along by the visibility of the name in film.
Meaning
runner, messenger
From Middle High German rennen, to run or to ride fast; the byname named a courier or a mounted messenger rather than an athlete.
How the name formed
- rennen
- Renner
Related forms: Renner · Läufer
Pronouncing Renner
REN-er
Two syllables, first stressed. German gives the second syllable a lighter vowel.
Nicknames for Renner
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
- 1999
- Most boys named
- 201842 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2848reached in 2018
- Change vs 2024
- +9.1%36 in 2025, from 33
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.
Renner in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Renner in German — same name
- Läufer in German — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, California.
Renners among us
people named Renner are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 47,447 born in 2025 was named Renner
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 Reymond test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Renner's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Reymond climbed just as high around 1962, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Reymond's path sketches the road Renner is walking now.
Renner 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 Renner is headed
Renner should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium 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.
Renner beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Renner in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A documented German occupational meaning with a good concrete image behind it.
- Ren is a short form that is short, current and complete on its own.
- Plain letters and an obvious pronunciation for English speakers.
- It reads as a surname to people meeting it in front of another one.
- Renner and Rennar both appear, though the first is standard.
- A well-known American actor's surname is the same, and it is often the reason people recognize it.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Renner
Masculine · #3240 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Renners are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 600 people named Renner are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Renner in 2025?
- Renner ranks #3240 among US boy names in 2025, with 36 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Renner?
- About 1 in every 47,447 US boys born in 2025 was named Renner — 36 in all.
- Will my child share the name Renner with classmates?
- Renner will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Renner
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Eugenio#3240 · Pace#3240 · Stoney#3240 · Dany#3240 · Rasheed#3240 · Abdirahman#3240 · Mykah#3240 · Lowell#3240
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Renner? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Renner and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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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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