# Fern (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/fern/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | girls |
| Origin | not recorded |
| Meaning | not recorded |
| Pronunciation | /fɝːn/, 1 syllable |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 38,195 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 529 / 37,666 (99% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 3,074, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From fern; in the case of the surname, it was given to someone who lived in a place where there was an abundance of these plants.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 34 | 4,283 |
| 2012 | 45 | 3,547 |
| 2013 | 46 | 3,419 |
| 2014 | 65 | 2,696 |
| 2015 | 86 | 2,200 |
| 2016 | 87 | 2,213 |
| 2017 | 86 | 2,206 |
| 2018 | 127 | 1,660 |
| 2019 | 108 | 1,867 |
| 2020 | 135 | 1,565 |
| 2021 | 141 | 1,500 |
| 2022 | 148 | 1,481 |
| 2023 | 157 | 1,422 |
| 2024 | 186 | 1,252 |
| 2025 | 186 | 1,220 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1936 | 8 | 2,713 |
| 1937 | 10 | 2,374 |
| 1938 | 6 | 3,292 |
| 1940 | 5 | 3,625 |
| 1941 | 5 | 3,675 |
| 1942 | 7 | 3,029 |
| 1945 | 8 | 2,633 |
| 1949 | 5 | 3,868 |
| 1950 | 8 | 2,856 |
| 1952 | 5 | 3,919 |
| 1953 | 8 | 2,994 |
| 1963 | 5 | 4,248 |
| 1970 | 5 | 4,955 |
| 2022 | 5 | 12,965 |
| 2024 | 16 | 5,736 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 65 | 615 |
| 2012 | 62 | 663 |
| 2013 | 65 | 626 |
| 2014 | 81 | 521 |
| 2015 | 86 | 500 |
| 2016 | 84 | 513 |
| 2017 | 93 | 472 |
| 2018 | 102 | 427 |
| 2019 | 120 | 362 |
| 2020 | 123 | 360 |
| 2021 | 140 | 339 |
| 2022 | 112 | 380 |
| 2023 | 130 | 334 |
| 2024 | 139 | 311 |
| 2025 | 149 | 301 |

## People named Fern

- Fern Andra, American actress (1893-1974)
- Fern Emmett, actress (1896-1946)
- Fern Hunt, American mathematician
- Fern Persons, American actor, SAG/AFTRA activist (1910-2012)
- Fern Fitzgerald, American actress
- Fern Whelan, English footballer (born 1988)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.