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Forbes

#9,172 in 2025Boys' name

Field, area of land

Forbes has been given to 242 babies in the U.S. since 1913. In 2025 it ranked #9,172 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 1918, with 12 recorded.

Babies named Forbes, 2025

1 in 414,000

Forbes over time, 1880–2025

Boys
05101518801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Forbes: meaning, origin, and history

Field, area of land

Scottish Gaelic

What Forbes means

Forbes means “field, area of land”.

Origin, language, and formation

Forbes is used in English. Its origins include Scottish Gaelic.

Pronunciation and spelling

In English, Forbes is pronounced /fɔɹbz/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 242 boys were recorded with the name Forbes between 1913 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 12 in 1918; its best national rank was #2,301 in 1945.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #11,042 in 2020 to #9,172 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #12,682 in 2015 to #9,172 in 2025.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

How common is Forbes?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 414,000
8 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 213,000
<0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025
#9,172
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
287,238 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Forbes sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 287,238 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Forbes. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Forbess were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Forbes was born before 1936 — so the typical Forbes is around 89 today.

Median birth year
1936
About 89 years old
Biggest decade
1910s
23.1% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
23.1%
Spread across generations
Recorded since 1950
95
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

1910s — 23.1% of all recorded uses (56).

Is Forbes rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
+3,745
Places climbed
Rank vs 5 years ago
+1,870
Places climbed
Rank vs 10 years ago
+3,510
Places climbed
Births vs 10 years ago
1.60×
More babies than then
Share of its own peak
66.7%
Peak was 1918 (12)
Years since peak
107
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Volatile
37.7% average annual change
Best rank ever
#2,301
1945

Spellings of Forbes

Forbes is not the most common spelling — Forrest is, with 70.0% against Forbes's 0.32%.

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Forbes around the world

Where Forbes ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    1997–2016
    #4,810
    in 2016
  • Scotland
    1974–2024
    #727
    in 2024
  • South Australia
    1952–2003
    #588
    in 2003

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS, NRS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0.

Forbes by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#9,172
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 1,870
Best rank ever
#2,301
1945
Peak year
1918
12 that year
First recorded
1913
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
242
Count in 2025
8

Names similar to Forbes

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

FortuneForeverForneyFortinoJabesHobbesFordyceForresterForesterFordhamFormanForsterForestForeignForrisForrieFortyFortunatoForaceForbusForesttFordForgeForrestt

Sibling names for Forbes

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Forbes

Top names of 1918, Forbes's peak yearThe 1910s in fullOther names that peaked in 1945Boys' names starting with F