How Many People Are Named Fern?
An estimated 6,806 people in the United States have the first name Fern. It is predominantly female (98.6%). The average bearer is 59 years old, and Fern peaked in popularity in 1918 with 1,356 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Fern as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Fern paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Fern is overwhelmingly female, 529 male births have been registered with this name since 1880.
Estimated Living Americans
6,806
About 1 in 50,361 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Rare
Predicted Gender
Female
98.6% confidence
Average Age
59
years old
Peak Year
1918
1,356 births
Total Registered
38,006
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Fern
Fern is predominantly female (98.6%), though 529 male births have been registered. It functions as a unisex name for a small percentage of bearers.
Fern as a male name
Ranked #5,719 in 2024
16 male births in 2024
Peak: 1915 (26 births)
Fern as a female name
Ranked #1,261 in 2024
184 female births in 2024
Peak: 1918 (1,341 births)
Fern: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Fern span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1920s, when 10,414 babies were registered. Fern has declined significantly from its peak in the 1920s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Fern by Decade
How has Fern tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 450 | 16 | 434 | |
| 1890s | 1,957 | 20 | 1,937 | |
| 1900s | 2,848 | 35 | 2,813 | |
| 1910s | 9,386 | 136 | 9,250 | |
| 1920s | 10,414 | 160 | 10,254 | |
| 1930s | 4,650 | 80 | 4,570 | |
| 1940s | 2,833 | 30 | 2,803 | |
| 1950s | 2,234 | 21 | 2,213 | |
| 1960s | 990 | 5 | 985 | |
| 1970s | 304 | 5 | 299 | |
| 1980s | 174 | 0 | 174 | |
| 1990s | 97 | 0 | 97 | |
| 2000s | 167 | 0 | 167 | |
| 2010s | 717 | 0 | 717 | |
| 2020s | 785 | 21 | 764 | |
Fern by State
Birth registrations for Fern span all 44 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in Illinois, Pennsylvania, Missouri. The lowest are in New Hampshire, Hawaii, Vermont. On average, about 643 Ferns were registered per state.
Fern + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Fern as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Fern
Other first names starting with F with a similar number of bearers.
Fern: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Fern?
We estimate approximately 6,806 people named Fern are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 50,361 Americans share this first name.
Is Fern a common name?
Fern is classified as "Rare" and is more popular than 97.1% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 38,006 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Fern most popular?
Fern reached peak popularity in 1918, when 1,356 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Fern is approximately 59 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Fern a female name?
Fern is predominantly female. 98.6% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Fern Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Fern Smith, Fern Johnson, Fern Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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