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Forest

“Variant of Forrest — Dweller or worker in a royal hunting forest” — Middle English origin

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

Forest has appeared in US records since 1880 — best rank #222 (1893) · 17,784 babies named Forest all-time · 1 in 5,000 boys born in 2025.

Around the world: about 1 in 5,500 boys in Canada (2024) · about 1 in 7,400 boys in England & Wales (2025).

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

Famous Forests

• Forest Whitaker — American actor
• Forest Ray Moulton — American astronomer and mathematician of the XXth century (1872–1952)
• Forest Able — American basketball player
• Forest McNeir — sport shooter (1875–1957)
• Forest B. H. Brown — American botanist (1873–1954)

In stories & tradition

• Forest Law — Tekken 3 · Tekken Tag Tournament
• Forest spirits in Polish mythology — demon
• Forest Speyer — Resident Evil

What Forests become

Among 54 notable people named Forest:

Athletes appear 1.57× more often than among typical names — e.g. Forest Able, American basketball player.

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

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