Forrest

Meaning: Dweller or worker in a royal hunting forest
Origin: Middle English

Boy's name · #374 in the US (2025) · Timeless

Popularity over time

Few names move less than Forrest — on the books since 1880, #374 in 2025, and dependable in between. Roughly 54,000 boys share it. In all that time it has never once missed a year of the national records.

Across the states

See where Forrest is more common.

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 46 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Around the world

See how Forrest ranks in other countries and regions.

#373 in New Zealand (2025) · #475 in England & Wales (2025) · #516 in Scotland (2025) · #480 in Canada (2024).

Famous Forrests

Forrest J Ackerman — American collector of science fiction books and movie memorabilia (1916–2008)
Forrest Smithson — Athletics competitor (1884–1962)
Forrest Towns — American hurdler (1914–1991)
Forrest Griffin — American mixed martial artist
Forrest Tucker — American actor (1919–1986)

In stories & tradition

Forrest Gump — Forrest Gump (book)
Forrest Gates^fr — Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV series)
Forrest Blackwell — Lego City Undercover (video game)

What Forrests become

Among 202 notable people named Forrest:

No single standout — notable Forrests spread across many fields.

Spellings & nicknames

Together with its spelling variant Forest (#750), Forrest would rank around #284 with about 1,200 births last year — the newborns split about 71/29 between Forrest and Forest.

Similar names: Forest · Mack · Foster · Franklin · Francis · Marshall

Browse more boy names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

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