Given name & surname
Forester
“a woodland dweller”·“from the woodland”
Forester is a variant of Forest. Interpretations include “a woodland dweller” (English) and “from the woodland” (English). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Forester is a variant of Forest. Interpretations include “a woodland dweller” (English) and “from the woodland” (English). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Forester is a variant of Forest. An origin associated with Forest is English.
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1918. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Forester through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 45
- 45 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1932
- 7 babies
- 2025
- 5
- #12,639 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 5 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 12,639 among boys’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Its largest published annual count for boys was 7 in 1932. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 116 as a first name in 2020; 4,717 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.
Forester’s family of names
Forester has a related form in Forest. In English usage, Forester as a surname has a conventional equivalent in the French form FORESTIER. In English usage, Forester as a surname has a conventional equivalent in the German form Förster.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 3
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
Similar names
If you love Forester, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Amarante
“a flower that never fades”
>99% boys
Oakey
“from the oak-tree grove”
>99% boys
Fairley
“from the far meadow”
>99% boys
Morley
“woman from the moor” · “from the meadow on the moor”
92% boys · 8% girls
Murrel
“of the shining sea”
80% boys · 20% girls
Mervyn
“a friend of the sea”
>99% boys
Lindburg
“from the linden tree hill”
>99% boys
Meril
“of the shining sea”
87% boys · 13% girls