The Forest variation of Forrest, used by actor Whitaker, nudges the meaning more toward the woods and away from the woodsman.

Forest

The kind of nouveau macho name favored by NRA-leaning parents, Gunner could appeal to those who like other more military or gun inspired names, such as Hunter, Remington, and Cannon. It got a boost up the charts in 2009 when The Killers' frontman Brandon Flowers gave it to his son.
 
Inspired by the Scandinavian Gunnar meaning "bold warrior", and by the word gunner itself, the name had been on the up until 2016. It began a slow decline in 2017, but in 2024, it was one of the fastest falling names of the year with parents turning to more peaceful options like Truce and Shiloh.
 
If you do like the idea but don't want to commit to associating your son heavily with weaponry, the Gunnar spelling makes the name a bit less militaristic.

Gunner

River shares the tranquil feeling of all the water names, and seems to have pretty much escaped its past strong association with River Phoenix and his unfortunate fate. Actor Joaquin Phoenix named his son with actress Rooney Mara after his brother River.

River's popularity is rising for boy genders, but it's still predominantly given to baby boys. Last year nearly 3500 boys were named River vs. about 1900 baby girls.

Keri Russell and the Taylor Hansons both have sons named River, Natasha Henstridge used it as the middle name of her boy Tristan, and Jason Schwartzman pluralized it for daughter Marlowe Rivers.

River

Lunariel7's list "Rustic Names" of 3 great name ideas: Forest - River!

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