Gunner
Gunner was the 506th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 597 babies. Its best year was 2014, when it ranked 235th; the most babies were born in 2015 (1,591). Over the last ten years it has moved down 267 places. More babies were named Gunner in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Meaning Origin uncertain · English, Old Norse
Say it GUN-er /ˈɡʌnər/
- Rank in 2025
- #506 boys, down 198 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 597boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 20151,591 babies
- Total since 1880
- 23,508babies recorded
What does the name Gunner mean?
Gunner is a modern American boy's name. Wiktionary records it as a surname from the word gunner, a soldier who operates a gun, and Dictionary.com dates that word to Middle English. In use it also overlaps with Gunnar, the Scandinavian form of an Old Norse name built on gunnr, "battle", and many families likely intend one or the other. The two sources cannot be separated for the given name.
gunner (English, “one who fires a gun”)gunnr (Old Norse, “battle (in Gunnar)”)
How sure is this? Uncertain. Mix of the English word and the Norse name Gunnar.
Related names: Gunnar, Gunther.
See also: English names, names that mean warrior.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Gunner', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Dictionary.com Unabridged (based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary), with Collins English Dictionary, s.v. 'gunner', Dictionary.com / Random House / HarperCollins
- CMU Pronouncing Dictionary (cmudict), Carnegie Mellon University
Gunner popularity since 1880
A few girls are given the name too: 22 since 2013.
| Year | Rank (boys) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #506 | 597 |
| 2020 | #308 | 1,071 |
| 2010 | #369 | 798 |
| 2000 | #716 | 244 |
| 1990 | #3,002 | 21 |
| 1980 | #5,795 | 6 |
| 1970 | #4,434 | 6 |
| 1960 | — | — |
| 1950 | — | — |
| 1940 | — | — |
| 1930 | — | — |
| 1920 | — | — |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Gunner, counting every spelling?
Gunner is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #329 for boys in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #506 for Gunner on its own. Together these spellings went to 1,059 boys in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gunner | 597 | #506 | 3,750 |
| Gunnar | 462 | #612 | 2,447 |
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 Gunner?
597 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Gunner (0.17 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Gunner 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 14 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Gunner.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Gunner?
About 23,200 people born in the US named Gunner are alive today, with a median age of 12; half are between 7 and 16. That makes Gunner a young name: most people with it are children.
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.
Gunner by state
How common Gunner was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in West Virginia (5.8×), Arkansas (3.9×), Kentucky (3.2×), Oklahoma (3.2×), Mississippi (3.0×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in New Jersey, Massachusetts, New York.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Gunner: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Gunner, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Gunner · Sibling names for Gunner
Questions about the name Gunner
What does Gunner mean?
The origin of Gunner is uncertain: Mix of the English word and the Norse name Gunnar.
How popular is the name Gunner?
Gunner was the 506th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 597 babies. Its best year was 2014, when it ranked 235th; the most babies were born in 2015 (1,591). Over the last ten years it has moved down 267 places. More babies were named Gunner in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Is Gunner a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name Gunner in the US.
Where is Gunner most popular?
In 2021–2025, Gunner was most common in West Virginia (2.54 per 1,000 boys), followed by Arkansas and Kentucky.