Archer
Top 1000
About Archer
Archer is an Anglo-Saxon surname that feels more modern than most because of its on-target occupational and Hunger Games associations. And it's a nice way to bypass the clunky Archibald to get to the cool nickname Archie.
But have a look at that amazing popularity chart below: After 1889, Archer took a 130-year nap, resurfacing on the Top 1000 in 2009 and now shooting straight upwards. Five years ago, we named Archer one of our Hottest Names of 2011—and, indeed, it jumped 102 places that year, thanks in part to Archer's similarity to popular Asher and its cross-gender appeal. Moms may like its literary gentility and dads its tough-guy FX cartoon appeal. Or, of course, vice versa.
Trivia tidbit: Archer is the name of Dr. Doolittle's father.
As of October 2026, Archer ranked #98 in US births in 2025 SSA, Nameberry popularity #86.
Editor's take: The name Archer is a boy's name of English origin meaning "bowman".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #301 | 1,182 | 615.3 |
| 2015 | #289 | 1,275 | 665.2 |
| 2016 | #263 | 1,385 | 729.8 |
| 2017 | #254 | 1,462 | 789.9 |
| 2018 | #239 | 1,594 | 877.7 |
| 2019 | #206 | 1,884 | 1,050 |
| 2020 | #160 | 2,349 | 1,360.9 |
| 2021 | #139 | 2,731 | 1,561 |
| 2022 | #126 | 2,921 | 1,673 |
| 2023 | #129 | 2,833 | 1,656.2 |
| 2024 | #115 | 3,093 | 1,795.2 |
| 2025 | #98 | 3,627 | 2,123.4 |
World rankings
Similar names
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Archer on lists
Famous Archers
- Archer Ernest Baldwin
English MP
- Archer Kent Blood
American diplomat
- Archer John Porter Martin
English chemist; winner of the Nobel Prize
- Archer Alexander
model for the slave in the Emancipation Memorial located in Lincoln Park, Washington, DC, USA
- Archer Milton Huntington
American historian and philanthropist
- Archer King
American actor, agent and producer
- Archibald Paul "Archer" MacMackin
American silent film director and writer
- Archer James Oliver
British portrait painter
- Archer Prewitt
American cartoonist and musician of The Sea and Cake
- Archer Sage
son of blogger Rebecca Woolf
- Archer Jones Sebastian (b. 2012)
son of singer Guy Sebastian and Jules Egan
- Archer Grason Ewing (b. 2014)
son of actor Dan Ewing
- Archer Robert Seddon (b. 2015)
son of broadcaster Sally Bowrey and Richard Seddon
Archer in pop culture
- Archer Cross
character in Rachel Hawkins's Hex Hall series
- Archer
character in the Fire series by Kristin Cashore
- Archer Montgomery
Addison's brother on TV's "Grey's Anatomy" and "Private Practice"
- Archer Finn
character in Sarah J. Maas's "Crown of Midnight"
- Archer Hale
character in Mia Sheridan's book "Archer's Voice"
- Archer Evermonde
character in J.K. Rowling's "The Potter Family"
- Archer
Team Rocket Executive in the video games Pokémon Gold and Pokémon Silver
- "Archer
" animated TV series about main character Sterling Malory Archer
- Newland Archer
main character in Edith Wharton's "Age of Innocence"
- Jonathan Archer
character in the Star Trek series
- "The Archers
" British radio soap
- Archers
brand of schnapps
- "The Archer"
Song by Taylor Swift featured in "Lover"
Variations & nicknames
- Archie
- Arch