Homer
Below 5 births
2025 SSA
About Homer
Homer is a name of two halves, associated with the ancient Greek poet of the epic Odyssey and with the (often) doltish patriarch of The Simpsons. So does that make Homer a classic and scholarly choice — or is it clunky and cartoonish?
Derived from ancient Greek homeros, the name can mean "hostage, pledge" or more figuratively, "security". It was popular in the US from at least the 19h-century onwards and featured in the Top 1000 until the early 1980s when it fell into decline. In a recent count, just 21 boys were called Homer in the US, ranking it alongside Icarus, Howie, Essex, and Lyfe in the same year.
Interestingly, however, Homer has been a surprising celebrity pick on multiple occasions, selected by Richard Gere, Bill Murray, and Anne Heche. Simpsons creator Matt Groening also has both a father and a son named Homer.
Returning to its Greek roots, however, Homer is associated with the term "homeric", which implies work on an enormous scale, and with "homeric laughter" too, in reference ro the unrestrained laughter of the Greek gods.
In fact, 2026 might just have marked a turning point for the name, reacquainting it with its ancient roots, following the movie adaptation of The Odyssey in the same year.
Homer is also given to girls.
Pronounced HO-mur.
As of October 2026, Homer ranked #6889 in US births in 1965 SSA, peaked at #1577 in 1894.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank · girls | Births · girls | US rank · boys | Births · boys |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | — | 0 | #3,561 | 30 |
| 2015 | — | 0 | #3,614 | 30 |
| 2016 | — | 0 | #4,241 | 24 |
| 2017 | — | 0 | #4,029 | 26 |
| 2018 | — | 0 | #3,470 | 32 |
| 2019 | — | 0 | #4,386 | 23 |
| 2020 | — | 0 | #3,606 | 30 |
| 2021 | — | 0 | #3,529 | 32 |
| 2022 | — | 0 | #3,368 | 35 |
| 2023 | — | 0 | #3,139 | 39 |
| 2024 | — | 0 | #4,105 | 26 |
| 2025 | — | 0 | #4,769 | 21 |
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Homer.
Homer on lists
Famous Homers
- HomerBoy
ancient Greek epic poet
- Homer Calvin DavenportBoy
American political cartoonist
- Homer Hadley HickamBoy
American novelist and NASA engineer
- Homer RiceBoy
American NFL football player and coach
- Homer Reed Gilbert aka Knuckles BoyleBoy
American NFL football player
- David Dewitt "Homer" BaileyBoy
Jr., American baseball player
- Henry D. "Homer" HaynesBoy
American country music singer of duo Homer & Jethro
- Homer Adolph PlessyBoy
American civil rights activist
- Homer MenschBoy
American classical bassist
- Homer Ransford WatsonBoy
Canadian landscape painter
- Homer Murray (b. 1982)Boy
son of actor Bill Murray
- Homer "Will" Groening (b. 1986)Boy
son of artist/writer/director Matt Groening
- Homer James Jigme Gere (b. 2000)Boy
son of American actor Richard Gere
- Homer Laffoon (b. 2002)Boy
son of actress Anne Heche
- Winslow HomerBoy
American landscape painter
Homer in pop culture
- Homer Jay SimpsonBoy
character on TV's "The Simpsons"
- Homer SimpsonBoy
character in book/film "The Day of the Locust"
- Homer FlaggBoy
character in the film "Living It Up"
- Homer WellsBoy
character in John Irving's "The Cider House Rules"
- Homer YannosBoy
character in John Marsden's "Tomorrow When the War Began"
- "Homer PriceBoy
" children's book series by Robert McCloskey and its main character
- HomerBoy
sidekick of Snidely Whiplash on animated series "Rocky & Bullwinkle"
- HomerBoy
character in the comic strip Non Sequitur by Wiley
- Homer PigeonBoy
character in Woody Woodpecker cartoons
- HomerBoy
main character in the Pandora series by Carolyn Hennesy
- Homer ShawBoy
son of Aidan on TV's "Sex and the City"
- HomerBoy
character on TV's The OA
- H.O.M.E.R.Boy
character in Marvel Universe
- Homer ZuckermanBoy
character from "Charlotte's Web"