| Fern | Ember | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | The fern plant | Glowing ember |
| Origin | English | english |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | FURN | EM-bər |
| Syllables | 1 | 2 |
| First appeared | 1880 | 1946 |
| Peak year | 1918 (1,341) | 2024 (2,183) |
| In 2025 | 186 | 1,952 |
| Trend | Rising | Near its peak |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Fern | Ember |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 953 | 10,992 |
| 2010s | 717 | 8,583 |
| 2000s | 167 | 1,598 |
| 1990s | 97 | 629 |
| 1980s | 174 | 463 |
| 1970s | 299 | 285 |
| 1960s | 985 | 71 |
| 1950s | 2,213 | 17 |
| 1940s | 2,803 | 8 |
| 1930s | 4,570 | 0 |
| 1920s | 10,254 | 0 |
| 1910s | 9,250 | 0 |
| 1900s | 2,813 | 0 |
| 1890s | 1,937 | 0 |
| 1880s | 434 | 0 |
Fern is an English nature name from the green woodland plant.
English word name from 'ember', a small glowing piece of burning or smouldering coal or wood left from a fire. Used directly for that image of lingering fire.
Ember is more popular than Fern today: about 1,952 US babies were given the name Ember in 2025, compared with 186 named Fern.
Fern means The fern plant (English origin), while Ember means Glowing ember (english origin).
In US records, Fern first appears in 1880 and Ember in 1946, so Fern has the longer recorded history.