# Forrest (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/forrest/  
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 | boys |
| Origin | not recorded |
| Meaning | “forest” |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | Forest |
| US babies named this | 54,697 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 53,639 / 1,058 (2% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 753, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

English surname, from the noun forest. Also adopted and translated from the word for "forest" in various other languages by settlers.

## What it means

Forrest is grouped under forest.

## 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 8 | 9,872 |
| 1997 | 7 | 11,222 |
| 2002 | 5 | 16,295 |
| 2013 | 5 | 17,442 |
| 2014 | 6 | 15,223 |
| 2016 | 8 | 12,138 |
| 2017 | 9 | 10,997 |
| 2018 | 6 | 14,402 |
| 2019 | 5 | 16,354 |
| 2020 | 9 | 10,544 |
| 2021 | 11 | 9,172 |
| 2022 | 16 | 7,085 |
| 2023 | 21 | 5,817 |
| 2024 | 10 | 9,793 |
| 2025 | 12 | 8,532 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 161 | 1,126 |
| 2012 | 154 | 1,180 |
| 2013 | 257 | 834 |
| 2014 | 338 | 713 |
| 2015 | 391 | 660 |
| 2016 | 423 | 632 |
| 2017 | 460 | 593 |
| 2018 | 484 | 570 |
| 2019 | 583 | 492 |
| 2020 | 640 | 462 |
| 2021 | 745 | 414 |
| 2022 | 794 | 403 |
| 2023 | 746 | 424 |
| 2024 | 794 | 407 |
| 2025 | 850 | 374 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 3 | 5,666 |
| 2019 | 5 | 4,001 |
| 2020 | 4 | 4,535 |
| 2021 | 6 | 3,519 |
| 2022 | 4 | 4,645 |
| 2025 | 5 | 4,201 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 4 | 3,830 |
| 2012 | 8 | 2,458 |
| 2013 | 9 | 2,216 |
| 2014 | 19 | 1,327 |
| 2015 | 19 | 1,327 |
| 2016 | 32 | 928 |
| 2017 | 32 | 943 |
| 2018 | 48 | 711 |
| 2019 | 68 | 552 |
| 2020 | 62 | 579 |
| 2021 | 69 | 556 |
| 2022 | 67 | 561 |
| 2023 | 76 | 514 |
| 2024 | 78 | 500 |
| 2025 | 82 | 474 |

## People named Forrest

- Forrest J Ackerman, American collector of science fiction books and movie memorabilia (1916-2008)
- Forrest Towns, American hurdler (1914–1991)
- Forrest Smithson, athletics competitor (1884-1962)
- Forrest Griffin, American mixed martial artist
- Forrest Tucker, American actor (1919–1986)
- Forrest Goodluck, American actor
- Forrest Stanley, American actor (1889-1969)
- Forrest Landis, American actor
- Forrest Mars, American businessman (1904–1999)
- Forrest Hood James, Jr., American politician, 48th Governor of Alabama
- Forrest Gregg, American football player and coach (1933-2019)
- Forrest Compton, American actor (1925-2020)

## 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.