Fern
Fern was given to 186 girls in 2025, #1,220 among girls’ names; 38,195 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 7,660 Americans named Fern and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (20% of everyone recorded); the median is 70 years old and half are between 33 and 81.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Fern by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Fern mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Fern is “a female given name.”
From fern; in the case of the surname, it was given to someone who lived in a place where there was an abundance of these plants.
/fɝːn/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Fern?
#1,220 among girls’ names, 2025
Fern rose from #2,200 in 2015 to #1,220 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 0.05 to 0.12 per 1,000.
1,356 babies in 1918, the peak
Fern peaked in 1918, when 1,356 babies were given it (1,341 girls, #164 among girls’ names). The 186 births of 2025 are 14% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 186 | #1,220 | 0.12 |
| 2024 | 186 | #1,252 | 0.11 |
| 2023 | 157 | #1,422 | 0.10 |
| 2022 | 148 | #1,481 | 0.09 |
| 2021 | 141 | #1,500 | 0.09 |
| 2020 | 135 | #1,565 | 0.08 |
| 2019 | 108 | #1,867 | 0.06 |
| 2018 | 127 | #1,660 | 0.07 |
| 2017 | 86 | #2,206 | 0.05 |
| 2016 | 87 | #2,213 | 0.05 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 86 | #2,200 | 0.05 |
| 2014 | 65 | #2,694 | 0.04 |
| 2013 | 46 | #3,417 | 0.03 |
| 2012 | 45 | #3,546 | 0.03 |
| 2011 | 34 | #4,282 | 0.02 |
| 2010 | 33 | #4,426 | 0.02 |
| 2009 | 26 | #5,437 | 0.01 |
| 2008 | 27 | #5,333 | 0.01 |
| 2007 | 10 | #11,093 | 0.01 |
| 2006 | 16 | #7,606 | 0.01 |
| 2005 | 18 | #6,628 | 0.01 |
| 2004 | 19 | #6,307 | 0.01 |
| 2003 | 13 | #8,146 | 0.01 |
| 2002 | 11 | #9,043 | 0.01 |
| 2001 | 9 | #10,371 | under 0.01 |
| 2000 | 18 | #6,024 | 0.01 |
| 1999 | 13 | #7,375 | 0.01 |
| 1998 | 10 | #8,800 | 0.01 |
| 1997 | 11 | #7,946 | 0.01 |
| 1996 | 6 | #12,330 | under 0.01 |
| 1995 | 13 | #6,769 | 0.01 |
| 1994 | 13 | #6,800 | 0.01 |
| 1993 | 8 | #9,871 | under 0.01 |
| 1992 | 5 | #13,981 | under 0.01 |
| 1991 | 9 | #8,821 | under 0.01 |
| 1990 | 9 | #8,707 | under 0.01 |
| 1989 | 15 | #5,632 | 0.01 |
| 1988 | 19 | #4,529 | 0.01 |
| 1987 | 8 | #8,234 | under 0.01 |
| 1986 | 5 | #11,510 | under 0.01 |
| 1985 | 13 | #5,453 | 0.01 |
| 1984 | 21 | #3,770 | 0.01 |
| 1983 | 17 | #4,330 | 0.01 |
| 1982 | 31 | #2,916 | 0.02 |
| 1981 | 28 | #3,094 | 0.02 |
| 1980 | 17 | #4,382 | 0.01 |
| 1979 | 28 | #3,016 | 0.02 |
| 1978 | 16 | #4,321 | 0.01 |
| 1977 | 20 | #3,658 | 0.01 |
| 1976 | 16 | #4,014 | 0.01 |
| 1975 | 22 | #3,188 | 0.02 |
| 1974 | 25 | #2,858 | 0.02 |
| 1973 | 33 | #2,323 | 0.02 |
| 1972 | 31 | #2,365 | 0.02 |
| 1971 | 41 | #2,043 | 0.02 |
| 1970 | 67 | #1,491 | 0.04 |
| 1969 | 49 | #1,739 | 0.03 |
| 1968 | 56 | #1,523 | 0.03 |
| 1967 | 70 | #1,304 | 0.04 |
| 1966 | 71 | #1,286 | 0.04 |
| 1965 | 84 | #1,173 | 0.05 |
| 1964 | 105 | #1,061 | 0.06 |
| 1963 | 109 | #1,022 | 0.06 |
| 1962 | 94 | #1,121 | 0.05 |
| 1961 | 164 | #822 | 0.08 |
| 1960 | 183 | #758 | 0.09 |
| 1959 | 204 | #702 | 0.10 |
| 1958 | 177 | #748 | 0.09 |
| 1957 | 187 | #731 | 0.09 |
| 1956 | 232 | #628 | 0.12 |
| 1955 | 216 | #632 | 0.11 |
| 1954 | 237 | #585 | 0.12 |
| 1953 | 256 | #542 | 0.14 |
| 1952 | 226 | #576 | 0.12 |
| 1951 | 250 | #526 | 0.14 |
| 1950 | 228 | #546 | 0.13 |
| 1949 | 238 | #537 | 0.14 |
| 1948 | 245 | #527 | 0.14 |
| 1947 | 255 | #520 | 0.14 |
| 1946 | 284 | #464 | 0.18 |
| 1945 | 260 | #442 | 0.20 |
| 1944 | 281 | #427 | 0.21 |
| 1943 | 300 | #424 | 0.22 |
| 1942 | 311 | #407 | 0.23 |
| 1941 | 301 | #396 | 0.25 |
| 1940 | 328 | #359 | 0.29 |
| 1939 | 327 | #359 | 0.30 |
| 1938 | 377 | #323 | 0.34 |
| 1937 | 366 | #326 | 0.34 |
| 1936 | 395 | #303 | 0.38 |
| 1935 | 429 | #289 | 0.41 |
| 1934 | 462 | #285 | 0.44 |
| 1933 | 507 | #275 | 0.50 |
| 1932 | 503 | #277 | 0.47 |
| 1931 | 571 | #255 | 0.54 |
| 1930 | 633 | #246 | 0.56 |
| 1929 | 679 | #231 | 0.61 |
| 1928 | 806 | #222 | 0.70 |
| 1927 | 845 | #219 | 0.71 |
| 1926 | 912 | #209 | 0.77 |
| 1925 | 976 | #203 | 0.80 |
| 1924 | 1,059 | #197 | 0.85 |
| 1923 | 1,169 | #187 | 1.0 |
| 1922 | 1,207 | #182 | 1.0 |
| 1921 | 1,297 | #174 | 1.1 |
| 1920 | 1,304 | #170 | 1.1 |
| 1919 | 1,181 | #176 | 1.0 |
| 1918 | 1,341 | #164 | 1.2 |
| 1917 | 1,261 | #162 | 1.2 |
| 1916 | 1,332 | #152 | 1.3 |
| 1915 | 1,175 | #157 | 1.2 |
| 1914 | 821 | #172 | 1.1 |
| 1913 | 697 | #166 | 1.1 |
| 1912 | 613 | #167 | 1.1 |
| 1911 | 435 | #172 | 1.0 |
| 1910 | 394 | #174 | 1.0 |
| 1909 | 345 | #174 | 1.0 |
| 1908 | 364 | #166 | 1.1 |
| 1907 | 276 | #193 | 0.87 |
| 1906 | 277 | #181 | 0.94 |
| 1905 | 273 | #183 | 0.94 |
| 1904 | 281 | #173 | 1.0 |
| 1903 | 276 | #177 | 1.1 |
| 1902 | 238 | #190 | 0.90 |
| 1901 | 217 | #191 | 0.91 |
| 1900 | 266 | #193 | 0.89 |
| 1899 | 232 | #182 | 1.0 |
| 1898 | 265 | #175 | 1.0 |
| 1897 | 237 | #178 | 1.0 |
| 1896 | 218 | #186 | 0.92 |
| 1895 | 184 | #200 | 0.79 |
| 1894 | 197 | #188 | 0.88 |
| 1893 | 189 | #185 | 0.89 |
| 1892 | 172 | #192 | 0.81 |
| 1891 | 124 | #216 | 0.67 |
| 1890 | 119 | #224 | 0.63 |
| 1889 | 103 | #230 | 0.58 |
| 1888 | 77 | #262 | 0.43 |
| 1887 | 69 | #252 | 0.47 |
| 1886 | 36 | #358 | 0.25 |
| 1885 | 44 | #304 | 0.33 |
| 1884 | 40 | #306 | 0.31 |
| 1883 | 19 | #440 | 0.17 |
| 1882 | 26 | #349 | 0.24 |
| 1881 | 10 | #554 | 0.11 |
| 1880 | 10 | #558 | 0.11 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Fern a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 38,195 Americans recorded as Fern, 99% are girls and 1% boys. In 2025 it went to 186 girls; SSA lists no boys with it that year (fewer than 5, or none).
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Fern: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Fern, and how old are they?
7,660 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 20% of the 38,195 Americans ever recorded as Fern. The median Fern alive today is 70 years old; half are between 33 and 81.
The 2020 Census counted 9,341 people named Fern (9,132 women and girls, 209 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 9,079 born in the U.S. The Census count is 3% above that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 1,910 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 2,970 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 596 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 213 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 310 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 1,570 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Fern born?
The states with the most babies named Fern are Illinois, Pennsylvania and Missouri, with 24% of its births recorded by state since 1910; Missouri is not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois | 2,351 | #1,479 | 1.3× |
| Pennsylvania | 2,315 | #1,145 | 0.9× |
| Missouri | 2,109 | not ranked | 2.3× |
| New York | 1,803 | #1,573 | 0.6× |
| Minnesota | 1,514 | #560 | 2.1× |
| Iowa | 1,383 | #601 | 2.1× |
| Michigan | 1,322 | #815 | 1.1× |
| Wisconsin | 1,246 | #654 | 1.6× |
| Ohio | 1,238 | #828 | 0.8× |
| Oklahoma | 1,227 | not ranked | 1.8× |
Where Fern is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Fern is most over-represented in Utah: since 1910 it was given 3.0 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Fern with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 2 names spelled alike, given to 38,318 babies since 1880, Fern is the most given (100% of them). In 2025 it was given to 186 of their 186 babies (100%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Fern
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Fern and names like it
- Compare Fern and FerrinBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1910sFern peaked in 1918.
- Illinois’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Fern since 1910.
- The top names of 1918The year the most babies were named Fern.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Fern alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with FMost given first.