Boys' name · since 1880
Forest
Forest has 17,784 recorded births since 1880 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 2022 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.
- #883 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #750 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 17,784
- born since 1880
- 1920s
- peak decade
17,784 babies have been named Forest since 1880, making it today's #750 boys' name.
Forest has 17,784 recorded births among boys since 1880, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #750 as of the latest data, more common than 95% of boys, busiest in the 1920s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #883 of 45,481 all-time among boys
- #750 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
- 17,784 born since 1880
- 1920s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Forest ranks #883 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #750 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 17,784 born since 1880, peaking in the 1920s.
- #883 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #750 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 17,784
- born since 1880
- 1920s
- peak decade
Forest's 17,784 recorded births place it above 98.05% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.
38 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.
How Forest compares
17,784 Top 7% higher than 93% of 13,930 names currently given to boys
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked boys names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Forest's all-time total is 48x the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Forest | Median boys name (Takari) | #1 boys name (Liam) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 17,784 | 369 | 358,536 |
| Peak-year births | 375 | 34 | 22,252 |
Forest's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Forest's full recorded timeline at 1953, 49% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 51% in the earlier half -- a fairly even split across the full record. Its quietest year on record was 1881, with just 18 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 2022 peak of 375 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Forest popularity over time - boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (2022)
- 375
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Forest popularity over time - girls
593 total births recorded since 1890 (Forest as girls' name)
Forest by decade
1920s is the heaviest window (2,562 births, 14% of the file).
1920s was Forest's strongest decade.
2,562 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 14% of all-time use.
Forest births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 298
1880s
298 births
- 1890s 470
1890s
470 births
- 1900s 541
1900s
541 births
- 1910s
1910s
2,125 births
- 1920s
1920s
2,562 births
- 1930s
1930s
1,493 births
- 1940s
1940s
1,276 births
- 1950s
1950s
1,037 births
- 1960s 779
1960s
779 births
- 1970s 758
1970s
758 births
- 1980s 787
1980s
787 births
- 1990s
1990s
1,467 births
- 2000s 657
2000s
657 births
- 2010s
2010s
1,448 births
- 2020s
2020s
2,086 births
What this shows Peak: 1920s at 2,562 births (14% of all-time use).
How Forest compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 boys names closest to Forest's total volume
Forest by state
Where Forest concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 1,314 | 7.4% |
| #2 | Ohio | | 1,180 | 6.6% |
| #3 | Texas | | 848 | 4.8% |
| #4 | Kentucky | | 649 | 3.6% |
| #5 | North Carolina | | 583 | 3.3% |
| #6 | Indiana | | 543 | 3.1% |
| #7 | Missouri | | 479 | 2.7% |
| #8 | Michigan | | 477 | 2.7% |
1,314 of 17,784 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 38 reporting states.
Forest appears in 38 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Forest? ▼
Where does Forest sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Forest most popular? ▼
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What to do with Forest's data
- Forest's usage has stayed within range of its 1920s decade-level peak (2,562 total births) through the 2020s (2,086) -- a comparatively stable name, not a fading trend.
- California records the most Forests (1,314 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. California names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Forest
Nearby Names Like Forest
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Forest
Compare Forest side by side: Forest vs Forrest Forest vs Ford Forest vs Fortunato
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Forest
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Forest: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~2022)
Similar record span (~145 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1880–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Forest draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.