Given name & surname
Forrester
“a woodland dweller”·“from the woodland”
Forrester 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
Forrester 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
Forrester 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 1915. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Forrester through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 116
- 116 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1994
- 10 babies
- 2025
- 6
- #11,110 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 6 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 11,110 among boys’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Its largest published annual count for boys was 10 in 1994. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 217 as a first name in 2020; 13,209 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.
Forrester’s family of names
Forrester has a related form in Forest.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Forrester
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Forrester, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Forrest
“a woodland dweller” · “from the woodland”
98% boys · 2% girls
Barkley
“birch tree” · “wood or clearing”
98% boys · 2% girls
Tecumseh
“a traveler; resembling a shooting star”
>99% boys
Ashford
“from the ash-tree ford”
>99% boys
Westleigh
“from the western meadow”
>99% boys
Darian
“a wise woman” · “from the oak tree”
94% boys · 6% girls
Lamar
“from the renowned land” · “of the sea”
86% boys · 14% girls
Rosheen
“horse” · “fame”
>99% boys