Given name & surname
Hunter
“a great huntress and provider”·“a great huntsman and provider”
Hunter is used as a given name and a surname. Interpretations include “a great huntress and provider” (English) and “a great huntsman and provider” (English). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Interpretations include “a great huntress and provider” (English) and “a great huntsman and provider” (English). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is English.
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
Hunter through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 276,622
- 262,238 boys · 14,384 girls
- Most popular year
- 2000
- 13,252 babies
- 2025
- 3,084
- #130 for boys · #842 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −44%
- Cooling
Boys, girls and both
The balance of boys and girls given this name has shifted over time. Recent births are 93% boys.
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 2,761 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 130 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 46.1% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 12,538 in 2000. It also appeared in 323 birth records for girls in 2025. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (233). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 230,193 as a first name in 2020; 155,740 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.
Hunter’s family of names
In English usage, Hunter as a surname has a feminine form in HUNTRESS. Hunter has a related form in Hunt. Hunter has a related form in Huntar.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Hunter has relatives in 4 languages. Lines run from its English roots to each of them.
Englishwhere Hunter comes from · 1 name
Nicknames & forms 17
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
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 Hunter
- Hunter S. ThompsonAmerican journalist and author (1937–2005)
- Hunter SchaferAmerican actress, model, and LGBTQ activist (born 1998)
- Hunter ParrishAmerican actorborn 1987
- Hunter DoohanAmerican actorborn 1994
- Hunter TyloAmerican actressborn 1962
- Hunter ArmstrongAmerican swimmerborn 2001
- Hunter HayesAmerican country musicianborn 1991
- Hunter TysonAmerican basketball player (born 2000)
- Hunter PenceAmerican baseball player (born 1983)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Hunter, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Tanner
“one who tans hides” · “one who makes leather”
95% boys · 5% girls
Carter
“a transporter of merchandise” · “one who transports goods; one who drives a cart”
93% boys · 7% girls
Walker
“walker of the forests” · “one who trods the cloth”
97% boys · 3% girls
Lincoln
“lake” · “from the village near the lake”
98% boys · 2% girls
Jefferson
“son of JEFFREY” · “the son of Jeffrey”
>99% boys
Chauncey
“an office holder; keeper of records” · “having good fortune”
>99% boys
Goddard
“one who is divinely firm”
77% boys · 23% girls
Spencer
“dispenser” · “an administrator; dispenser of provisions”
81% boys · 19% girls