Boys' name · peaked in 1907
Forrest name popularity since 1925
43,655 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Forrest (1.6% girls, 98.4% boys). Half of them were born in 1974 or earlier, so the typical Forrest is about 52 years old in 2026. Forrest peaked in 1907 as the #187 name for boys, and it ranked #374 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 43,655
- Named Forrest, 1925–2025
- Peak year
- 1907
- #187 for boys that year
- In 2025
- #374
- for boys in 2025 (850 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 98.4% boys
- 703 girls · 42,952 boys
- Most popular in
- Oregon
- 2.32× its national share
Peak year is the year Forrest made up the largest share of US boys, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Forrest births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year on this chart was 1994. Measured as a share of all babies, Forrest peaked earlier, in 1907.
- Steepest fall: Between 1994 and 1999, Forrest's share of baby boys fell by 80%, from 1 in 1,440 to 1 in 7,330.
- Fastest rise: Between 2012 and 2017, it became 3.1× more common, from 1 in 12,300 baby boys to 1 in 4,020.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Forrest's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Forrest.
Decade by decade
Babies named Forrest in each decade, and its rank among boys' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 54 | 3,112 | – |
| 1930s | 90 | 4,421 | #264 |
| 1940s | 86 | 4,500 | #285 |
| 1950s | 88 | 4,710 | #329 |
| 1960s | 25 | 3,589 | #419 |
| 1970s | 47 | 2,906 | #480 |
| 1980s | 53 | 3,489 | #492 |
| 1990s | 137 | 6,502 | #309 |
| 2000s | 5 | 1,741 | #1,097 |
| 2010s | 39 | 3,413 | #660 |
| 2020–25 | 79 | 4,569 | #374 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
20.4% of babies named Forrest from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Millennial years (1981–1996). The full split by generation:
Where Forrest is most popular
The index compares Forrest's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Forrest.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Oregon | 2.32× | 847 |
| Washington | 1.94× | 1,264 |
| Oklahoma | 1.90× | 961 |
| Virginia | 1.73× | 1,515 |
| West Virginia | 1.71× | 584 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Forrest and were given to at least 1,000 boys from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Boys | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Forrest (this page) | 42,952 | 1907 |
| Forest | 12,967 | 1893 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Forrest's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Forrest.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Forrest (1907).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data