Given name & surname
Ferris
“one who is as strong as iron”
Ferris is a variant of Farris. One English interpretation is “one who is as strong as iron.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Ferris is a variant of Farris. One English interpretation is “one who is as strong as iron.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Ferris is a variant of Farris. An origin associated with Farris is English.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
From Norman Ferrers, from French fer (“iron”).
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1893. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Ferris through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 3,149
- 2,837 boys · 312 girls
- Most popular year
- 2024
- 67 babies
- 2025
- 43
- #3,149 for boys · #15,675 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +24%
- Rising
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 38 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 3,149 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 21.3% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. It also appeared in 5 birth records for girls in 2025. In 2025, California and Michigan shared the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (6 each). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,751 as a first name in 2020; 19,733 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Ferris’s family of names
Ferris has a related form in Farris. In English usage, Ferris has a related form in Faries. In English usage, Ferris has a related form in FERRISS.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 3
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
People named Ferris
- Ferris TaylorAmerican actor (1888-1961)
- Ferris FainAmerican baseball player1921–2001
- Ferris WebsterAmerican film editor (1912–1989)
- Ferris Jacobs Jr.Union Army officer1836–1886
- FerrisGerman music producer and disc jockeyborn 1971
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Ferris, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Felix
“lucky” · “one who is happy and prosper- OuS”
99% boys · 1% girls
Ellis
“Jehovah is my God” · “noble”
73% boys · 27% girls
Rhys
“ardour” · “having great enthusiasm for life”
95% boys · 5% girls
Ford
“from the water” · “from the river crossing”
>99% boys
Finnegan
“a fair-haired man”
99% boys · 1% girls
Adonis
Adonis is a masculine given name from Ancient Greek.
>99% boys
Cyrus
“a king”
99% boys · 1% girls
Elio
Elio is a masculine given name from Ancient Greek. It is used in Spanish and Italian.
>99% boys