Recorded 1909–1942 Boys' name Peak 1913 127 births

Forney — boys' name

127 babies named Forney in U.S. Social Security records since 1909, with the highest year being 1913. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

1900s61910s451920s471930s231940s6
1920s
Peak decade

37% of everyone ever named Forney was born in this single decade.

1913
Single peak year

10 babies were named Forney in 1913 — its busiest year on record.

What the Data Says About Forney

The Social Security Administration has registered 127 babies named Forney between 1909 and 1942, spanning 34 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a boy's name, Forney currently falls outside the top 1,000 boys' names for 1942. The name reached its historical peak in 1913, when 10 babies received it in a single year.

Decade-level aggregation shows that Forney performed strongest in the 1920s, accumulating 47 births during that ten-year window. Across the 5 decades of recorded activity, Forney shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in Alabama, which accounts for 5 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by . In total, SSA state-level files list Forney in 1 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.

No etymological entry is currently available for Forney in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 127 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.

Forney at a glance

Last recorded 1942

Total births

127

Since 1909

34 years of records

Peak year

1913

10 births that year

Strongest decade: 1920s

Current rank

Unranked

Outside the modern top-1,000

As of 1942

Active since

1909

Recorded for 34 years

Last year on file: 1942

Forney popularity over time

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1942–1909

Last recorded 1942
Peak year (1913)
10
Annual births at peak — across 34 years of records
4681012 1942193219271923191819141909 6

Forney by decade

Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance

Peak: 1920s
Peak decade
1920s
47 births that decade — 37% of Forney's all-time total
1900s61910s451920s471930s231940s6

Forney by state

Where Forney concentrates geographically — total births since 1909

Geographically diffuse
Top 1 states by recorded births for the name Forney
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 Alabama
5 3.9%
Alabama share of Forney's total US births 3.9%

5 of 127 births nationwide.

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Forney?
127 babies have been named Forney since 1909. It was last recorded in 1942. The peak year was 1913 with 10 births.
When was Forney most popular?
Forney was most popular in the 1920s decade with 47 total births. The single peak year was 1913.
Where is Forney most popular?
The top states for the name Forney are Alabama (5 births).
How long has the name Forney been used?
Forney has been recorded in Social Security data since 1909, spanning 34 years of data through 1942.
What names are similar to Forney?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Forrest, Forest, Ford, Fortunato, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.

Data Sources

Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1909–1942 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.