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Fern

girl name
Origin
English
Syllables
1
Peak era
1890s/1920s
Today
▬ Steady

Torn between Fern and another name? Compare them side by side →

Meaning

fern plant

How popular is Fern around the world?

In the United States, 974 babies were named Fern between 2020 and 2025. In New Zealand, 19 girls named Fern were registered in 2025.

Fern is on the official records of the United States, New Zealand, Scotland, England and Wales, Ireland, South Australia and Canada.

United States

1 in 22,000

In the United States, 974 babies were named Fern between 2020 and 2025.

peak 1890s2020s

Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Fern peaked in the 1890s and the 1920s in nearly equal measure.

Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration

See the full list for the United States →

New Zealand

1 in 3,000

In New Zealand, 19 girls named Fern were registered in 2025.

2000peak 2021

share of that year’s name registrations

First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time

See the full list for New Zealand →

Scotland

1 in 3,500

In Scotland, 13 girls named Fern were registered in 2024, the 275th most common name among girls that year.

1974peak 2022

share of that year’s name registrations

Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names

See the full list for Scotland →

England and Wales

1 in 3,900

In England and Wales, 149 girls named Fern were born in 2025, the 301st most common name among girls that year.

peak 19982025

share of that year’s name registrations

Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales

See the full list for England and Wales →

Ireland

1 in 9,000

In Ireland, 6 girls named Fern were born in 2025, the 544th most common name among girls that year.
The count never rose above 6 in a year, too few to chart.

Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names

See the full list for Ireland →

South Australia

1 in 9,200 · 2017

In South Australia, 2 girls were registered as Fern in 2017.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.

Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names

See the full list for South Australia →

Canada

1 in 15,000

In Canada, 17 girls named Fern were born in 2024, ranked 1,399th among girls that year.
In Canada, 7 boys named Fern were born in 2024, ranked 2,550th among boys that year.

1991peak 2021

share of that year’s name registrations

First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)

See the full list for Canada →

Not on the record in Spain, Mexico City, Argentina, Puerto Rico and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.

Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Austria record for 1984 to 2025: Statistik Austria publishes every first name down to a single birth, so this name was not given there in those years (before 2010 the record covers babies with Austrian citizenship only). Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.

All records: the most popular baby names around the world →

Names that fit alongside Fern

Hazel Birdie Ivy Elma Lorene Holly

Where Fern travels

Thai · A Thai girls' call name that also reads naturally in English-speaking families.

Keep exploring

Thai baby names · Short names

The Fern deep dive

Written for you · $1.99 →

Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Fern truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Fern fits with your family’s names and surname.

Both reports, explained →

Does Fern fit YOUR family?

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