Forest
Forest was the 750th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 344 babies. Its best year was 1893, when it ranked 223rd; the most babies were born in 2022 (375). Over the last ten years it has moved up 559 places. More babies were named Forest in the 1920s than in any other decade.
Meaning (as Forrest) forest · English, Old French
- Rank in 2025
- #750 boys, up 48 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 344boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 2022375 babies
- Total since 1880
- 18,377babies recorded
What does the name Forest mean?
Forest is a spelling of Forrest, pronounced the same way, so it shares Forrest's meaning and origin.
Forrest is an English surname for someone who lived or worked in a forest, in the medieval sense of royal hunting land. Bardsley explains it as "at the forest", with Yorkshire records from the 1370s. In the US it was helped by Confederate general Nathan Bedford Forrest and later by the film Forrest Gump (1994).
forest (Old French, “forest, royal hunting ground”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Forest, Forester.
See also: English names, names that mean tree.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Forrest', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (1901), s.v. 'Forrest', Henry Frowde (public domain; Internet Archive scan)
- Dictionary.com Unabridged (based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary), with Collins English Dictionary, s.v. 'forrest', Dictionary.com / Random House / HarperCollins
- CMU Pronouncing Dictionary (cmudict), Carnegie Mellon University
Forest popularity since 1880
A few girls are given the name too: 593 since 1890, 12 in 2025.
| Year | Rank (boys) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #750 | 344 |
| 2020 | #798 | 291 |
| 2010 | #1,785 | 83 |
| 2000 | #1,481 | 83 |
| 1990 | #1,084 | 97 |
| 1980 | #884 | 103 |
| 1970 | #943 | 72 |
| 1960 | #807 | 90 |
| 1950 | #648 | 115 |
| 1940 | #521 | 124 |
| 1930 | #409 | 206 |
| 1920 | #343 | 292 |
| 1910 | #304 | 65 |
| 1900 | #285 | 53 |
| 1890 | #285 | 37 |
| 1880 | #308 | 30 |
How popular is Forest, counting every spelling?
Forest is a spelling of Forrest, a name family that ranked #294 for boys in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #750 for Forest on its own. Together these spellings went to 1,194 boys in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forrest | 850 | #374 | 3,929 |
| Forest | 344 | #750 | 1,795 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Forest?
344 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Forest (0.10 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Forest born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 24 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Forest.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Forest?
About 9,000 people born in the US named Forest are alive today, with a median age of 30; half are between 7 and 53. That makes Forest mostly worn by children and young adults. The wide spread shows a name popular in two different eras.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Forest by state
How common Forest was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Oregon (4.4×), Washington (2.7×), Wisconsin (2.4×), Colorado (2.4×), Utah (1.9×). In 17 states fewer than five boys a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Forest: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Forest, they share its era and feel.
Questions about the name Forest
What does Forest mean?
Forest is a spelling of Forrest, which means “forest” (English, Old French origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Forest?
Forest was the 750th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 344 babies. Its best year was 1893, when it ranked 223rd; the most babies were born in 2022 (375). Over the last ten years it has moved up 559 places. More babies were named Forest in the 1920s than in any other decade.
Is Forest a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name Forest in the US.
Where is Forest most popular?
In 2021–2025, Forest was most common in Oregon (0.91 per 1,000 boys), followed by Maine and Washington.