Given name & surname · also American
Homer
“a tomboyish woman”·“of the pledge; an epic poet”
Homer is used as a given name and a surname. Interpretations include “a tomboyish woman” (American) and “of the pledge; an epic poet” (Greek). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Original Ancient GreekὍμηρος
Meaning & origin
What it means
Interpretations include “a tomboyish woman” (American) and “of the pledge; an epic poet” (Greek). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Greek.
How it developed
In English usage, Homer developed from Ὅμηρος.
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.
From dated birth records
In the Bible
In the Bible, the name Homer appears in Acts 17:28.
From biblical name research
Homer through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 61,279
- 60,912 boys · 367 girls
- Most popular year
- 1920
- 1,734 babies
- 2025
- 21
- #4,769 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +13%
- Rising
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 21 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 4,769 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 13.3% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 1,722 in 1920. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 14,540 as a first name in 2020; 5,797 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.
Homer’s family of names
In English usage, Homer developed from the Ancient Greek form Ὅμηρος. In English usage, Homer has a conventional equivalent in the Portuguese form Homero. Homer has a related form in Homero.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Homer has relatives in 11 languages. Lines run from its Ancient Greek roots to each of them.
Ancient Greekwhere Homer comes from · 1 name
Nicknames & forms 13
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Homerovariant · Spanish, Portuguese
- Hommerlikely variant
- Homarvariant
- Hohmarvariant
- Hohmervariant
- Homerusvariant · Latin
- Homerosvariant
- Homerevariant
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Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 12
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- Ὅμηροςroot · Ancient Greek
- OmerFrench
- OmeroItalian
- Omirosequivalent
- ГомерRussian
- Όμηροςequivalent
- Homieequivalent
- ՀոմերոսArmenian
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See also 9
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
- Omarshares a root
- Amariahshares a root
- Ulyssessee also
- Virgilsee also
- Immershares a root
- Hamranshares a root
- Hamorshares a root
- Amraphelshares a root
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People named Homer
- Homer HickamAmerican author and engineer (born 1943)
- Homer Stille CummingsAmerican politician (1870-1956)
- Homer Burton AdkinsAmerican chemist (1892-1949)
- Homer Dodge Martinpainter (1836-1897)
- Homer H. DubsAmerican sinologist (1892-1969)
- Homer Baileybaseball player from the United Statesborn 1986
- Homer S. FergusonAmerican politician (1889-1982)
- Homer BoneUnited States federal judge (1883-1970)
- Homer E. CapehartAmerican businessman and politician (1897–1979)
Characters named Homer: Homer Simpson (The Simpsons franchise).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Homer, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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