Forest

Meaning: Dweller or worker in a royal forest
Origin: English surname — Variant of Forrest

Boy's name · #750 in the US (2025) · Comeback

Popularity over time

Forest was #223 in 1893, slipped to #2551 by 2006, and has climbed back to #750 today. Roughly 18,000 boys have been named Forest since 1880. In all that time it has never once missed a year of the national records.

Across the states

See where Forest is more common.

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 31 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Around the world

See how Forest ranks in other countries and regions.

#856 in England & Wales (2025) · #1,083 in Canada (2025) · #535 in Scotland (2024) · #1,456 in Sweden (2023) · #5,182 in Ecuador (2022) · #12,138 in Italy (2022) · #3,120 in France (2003).

Famous Forests

Forest Whitaker — American actor (born 1961)
Forest Blakk — Canadian singer and songwriter
Forest Ray Moulton — American astronomer (1872–1952)
Forest Swords — English record producer, composer, and DJ
Forest Able — American basketball player (1932–2026)

In stories & tradition

Forest Law — Tekken 3 (video game)
Forest Speyer — Resident Evil (video game)

What Forests become

Among 54 notable people named Forest:

Sports figures appear 1.57× more often than among typical names — e.g. Forest Able, American basketball player (1932–2026).

Spellings & nicknames

Together with its spelling variant Forrest (#374), Forest would rank around #284 with about 1,200 births last year — the newborns split about 71/29 between Forrest and Forest.

Similar names: Forrest · Major · Foster · Royal · Emmet · Porter

Browse more boy names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

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