Ranger
- Gender
- Boy
- Say it
- RAYN-jer
- Origin
- English
- US rank, 2025
- #1,571 for boys
Ranger is a boys' name of English origin, meaning “forest keeper”. In 2025 it ranked 1,571st for boys in the US (108 babies).
What does Ranger mean?
English: English word
“forest keeper”
From the English word for a keeper of a forest or park, from range, 'to roam'.
Is Ranger a girl's or a boy's name?
Ranger is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 108 boys in the US. Too few girls were given it to be listed.
How popular is Ranger in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 1,571st among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 108 about 1 in 16,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Steady up 21% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 108 boys in the US were named Ranger, making it the 1,571st most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 1,647th. Its busiest year was 2022, with 126 boys. It first appears in the records in 1958.
It has been given to fewer boys each year for the last 3 years. 2025 had fewer boys named Ranger than any year since 2020.
Half of all the boys named Ranger in the US since 1880 were born between 2013 and 2022, the years shaded on the chart below.
Ranger in the US, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 108 | #1,571 |
| 2024 | 116 | #1,521 |
| 2023 | 118 | #1,501 |
| 2022 | 126 | #1,440 |
| 2021 | 118 | #1,503 |
| 2020 | 97 | #1,647 |
| 2019 | 110 | #1,534 |
| 2018 | 76 | #1,936 |
| 2017 | 74 | #1,935 |
| 2016 | 70 | #2,028 |
| 2015 | 50 | #2,485 |
| 2014 | 54 | #2,368 |
| 2013 | 48 | #2,526 |
| 2012 | 44 | #2,715 |
| 2011 | 34 | #3,234 |
| 2010 | 32 | #3,376 |
| 2009 | 23 | #4,276 |
| 2008 | 18 | #5,063 |
| 2007 | 29 | #3,589 |
| 2006 | 25 | #3,886 |
| 2005 | 24 | #3,811 |
| 2004 | 12 | #6,132 |
| 2003 | 12 | #5,870 |
| 2002 | 14 | #5,124 |
| 2001 | 11 | #6,006 |
| 2000 | 7 | #8,202 |
| 1999 | 8 | #7,132 |
| 1998 | 8 | #6,837 |
| 1997 | 0 | – |
| 1996 | 6 | #7,964 |
| 1995 | 12 | #4,785 |
| 1994 | 9 | #5,862 |
| 1993 | 6 | #7,631 |
| 1992 | 0 | – |
| 1991 | 7 | #6,511 |
| 1990 | 7 | #6,408 |
| 1989 | 0 | – |
| 1988 | 0 | – |
| 1987 | 0 | – |
| 1986 | 0 | – |
| 1985 | 0 | – |
| 1984 | 0 | – |
| 1983 | 0 | – |
| 1982 | 0 | – |
| 1981 | 0 | – |
| 1980 | 0 | – |
| 1979 | 0 | – |
| 1978 | 0 | – |
| 1977 | 0 | – |
| 1976 | 0 | – |
| 1975 | 0 | – |
| 1974 | 0 | – |
| 1973 | 0 | – |
| 1972 | 0 | – |
| 1971 | 0 | – |
| 1970 | 0 | – |
| 1969 | 0 | – |
| 1968 | 0 | – |
| 1967 | 0 | – |
| 1966 | 0 | – |
| 1965 | 0 | – |
| 1964 | 0 | – |
| 1963 | 0 | – |
| 1962 | 0 | – |
| 1961 | 0 | – |
| 1960 | 0 | – |
| 1959 | 0 | – |
| 1958 | 5 | #3,942 |
Names like Ranger
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
River, Karter, Wilder, Archer, Ledger, Ryder, Baker, Wylder, Gunner, Cooper, Ryker, Colter
More English names
Lily, Evelyn, Hudson, Ivy, Harper, Grace, Violet, Willow, Daisy, Poppy, Riley, Oakley, Mason, Ruby, Hallie, Hazel
Sources
Figures from Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Ranger: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/ranger, updated 20 October 2026.