Fern is an English topographic name from the Old English ‘’fearn’’. It refers to someone who lives among ferns. The name is used as a given name and a surname.[1][2][3] The name is in use primarily in English-speaking countries. It has been in use since the 1800s and has also occasionally been in use for boys, though it is primarily a feminine name.[3] There were 133 newborn American girls named Fern in 2020, 140 in 2021, and 148 in 2022.[4] There were 26 newborn girls given the name in Canada in 2021.[5]
 “The Fern Gatherer” by Charles Sillem Lidderdale, 1877. | |
| Gender | Primarily female |
|---|---|
| Origin | |
| Word/name | English |
| Meaning | plant name |
Notable people with the name Fern or Ferns include:
Given name
edit- Fern Andra (1893–1974), American actress
- Fern Battaglia (1931–2001), American baseball player
- Fern Bell (1913–2000), American baseball player
- Fern Brady (born 1986), Scottish comedian
- Fern Britton (born 1957), English television presenter
- Fern G. Z. Carr (born 1956), Canadian poet
- Fern Schumer Chapman (born 1954), American journalist
- Fern Coppedge (1883–1951), American painter
- Fern Cunningham, American sculptor
- Fern Deacon (born 1998), English actress
- Fern Emmett (1896–1946), American film actress
- Fern Ferguson, American baseball player
- Fern Fitzgerald (born 1947), American actress
- Fern Gauthier (1919–1992), Canadian ice hockey player
- Fern Headley (1901–1956), American ice hockey player
- Fern Hobbs (1883–1964), American attorney
- Fern Holland (1970–2004), American lawyer
- Fern Hunt (born 1948), American mathematician
- Fern Jones (1923–1996), American gospel singer
- Fern Kinney (born 1949), American singer
- Fern Kupfer (born 1946), American author
- Fern LeBlanc (born 1956), French professional ice hockey player
- Fern Majeau (1916–1966), French ice hockey player
- Fern Mallis (born 1948), American consultant
- Fern Michaels (born 1933), American author
- Fern Hubbard Orme (1903–1993), American politician
- Fern Perreault (1927–2021), French ice hockey player
- Fern Persons (1910–2012), American film actress
- Fern Rahmel (1914–2009), Canadian writer
- Fern Riddell (born 1986), British historian
- Fern Rivard (1946–1993), Canadian ice hockey player
- Fern Flanagan Saddler (born 1955), American judge
- Fern Sawyer (1917–1993), American cowgirl
- Fern Shaffer (born 1944), American painter
- Fern Shubert, Republican political figure
- Fern Shumate (1910–2003), American writer
- Fern Shollenberger (1923–1977), American baseball player
- Fern M. Smith (born 1933), American judge
- Fern Blodgett Sunde (1918–1991), Canadian wireless radio operator
- Fern Sutherland (born 1987), New Zealand actress
- Fern Villeneuve (1927–2019), Canadian aviator
- Fern Whelan (born 1988), English footballer
Stage name
edit- Fern (rapper) (born 1979), Puerto Rican rapper
Surname
edit- Charlie Fern, American speechwriter and journalist
- Cody Fern, Australian actor, screenwriter
- Fanny Fern, pseudonym of American writer Sara Willis Parton
- Fritzi Fern, motion picture actress from Akron, Ohio
- George Fern, English footballer
- Harold Fern, British president of swimming's world governing body FINA
- Henry Ferne, Chaplain Extraordinary to Charles I
- Joseph J. Fern, first Mayor of Honolulu
- Rodney Fern (1948–2018), English footballer
- Ronald Ferns, English illustrator, designer, cartoonist and surrealist painter
- Tan Paey Fern, Singaporean table tennis player
- Tom Fern, English footballer
Fictional characters
edit- Fern Arable, from E.B. White's Charlotte's Web
- Fern the Green Fairy, one of The Rainbow Fairies from the Rainbow Magic book franchise
- Fern Martin from the film The Hard Man
- Fern Mayo/Vylette from Jawbreaker, 1998 black comedy film
- Fern Walters, from the children's book and animated television series Arthur
- Fern, from Magical × Miracle
- Fearne Calloway, from Critical Role Season 3.
- Fern, from the animated series Adventure Time
- Fern, from Frieren
- Fern, a fairy from Pixie Hollow Games voiced by Zendaya
- Fern, the changeling protagonist of video game Rusted Moss
References
edit- ^ Hanks, Patrick (8 May 2003). Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press. p. 566. ISBN 978-0-19-977169-1.
- ^ Seary, E.; Kirwin, William (1 November 1998). Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland. McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. p. 176. ISBN 978-0-7735-6741-2.
- ^ a b Hanks, Patrick; Hardcastle, Kate; Hodges, Flavia (2006). Oxford Dictionary of First Names. Oxford University Press. p. 99. ISBN 0-19-861060-2.
- ^ "Popular Baby Names". Archived from the original on 2018-02-02. Retrieved 2022-03-23.
- ^ "First names at birth by sex at birth, selected indicators". www150.statcan.gc.ca. Statistics Canada. 9 May 2023. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
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