Given name & surname

Forest

“a woodland dweller”·“from the woodland”

Forest is used as a given name and a surname. Interpretations include “a woodland dweller” (English) and “from the woodland” (English). These may reflect different naming traditions.

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Meaning & origin

What it means

Interpretations include “a woodland dweller” (English) and “from the woodland” (English). These may reflect different naming traditions.

Where it comes from

An origin associated with this spelling is English.

How it developed

From Old French forest.

Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The story

Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. In English use, Forest has a related form in Forrest. The history of Forrest gives this family its wider story. Forrest’s naming history includes the use of a family name as a given name.

Combines direct and name-family evidence

Forest through the years

Babies since 1880: 18,377; 17,784 boys · 593 girls
Most popular year: 2022; 391 babies
2025: 356; #750 for boys · #8,531 for girls
2021–25 vs 2016–20: +59%; Rising fast

Boys Girls

Forest in U.S. Social Security birth records, 1880–2025, per million births of each sex. Years with fewer than five births for a sex are not published and appear as zero. Use the arrow keys to step through years.

Boys, girls and both

The balance of boys and girls given this name has shifted over time. Recent births are 95% boys.

Boys Girls

Five-year rolling share of U.S. births. Blank stretches had too few births to read.

Where it’s given

Most at home inWashington, California, Texas

FewerMore, relative to births Not published

2025 births by state of birth. Tiles are equal-sized so small states stay visible. Highest rates: Washington (20), California (43), Texas (24).

By the numbers

In 2025, this name appeared in 344 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 750 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 59.6% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. It also appeared in 12 birth records for girls in 2025. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (43). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 7,663 as a first name in 2020; 4,862 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.

Forest’s family of names

In English usage, Forest as a surname shares a linguistic root with the German form FORST. In English usage, Forest has a related form in Forrest. Forest has a related form in Forrest.

Walk Forest’s family in the name graph

Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.

Hover or tab through the constellation to see how each name is related. Bigger dots are names more people in the U.S. share.

Around the world

Forest has relatives in 4 languages. Lines run from its English roots to each of them.

Englishwhere Forest comes from · 2 names

Each dot marks where a language is rooted, not where people with the name live today. Bigger dots hold more names. Language locations from Glottolog (CC BY 4.0); map from Natural Earth.

Nicknames & forms 10

Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.

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Spellings & scripts 2

The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.

Across languages 4

Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.

People named Forest

Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.

Appears in

Similar names

If you love Forest, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.

English · Nature

Sibling ideas

Names that share Forest’s feel without repeating its first letter or rhyming with it.

A brother for Forest

A sister for Forest

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