Image by Valerie Everett via Flickr
He’s a nineteenth-century rarity, newly returned to the Top 1000 in 2009.
Thanks to Rachel for suggesting Archer as Baby Name of the Day.
In 1880, Archer ranked #642. By 1890, he was gone from the rankings, and he stayed gone for well over a century. But Archer re-appeared in 2009, at #679. This time, he seems destined for wider use.
Archie is retro-hot, a starbaby pick beginning to shed his comic book prison. And Archibald is a musty, grandpa name starting to sound quite cool once more. Little wonder that parents are landing on this surname pick as another Arch- appellation.
But it is his -er ending that makes him so likely to catch on. In the 2000s, Tyler, Hunter, and Carter all occupied the Top 100, prompting parents to seek out more occupational surnames in the same style, as well as popular choices like Connor, that just happen to end the same sound.
The US Top 1000 now includes:
- Occupational choices like Parker, Cooper, Sawyer, Spencer, Tucker, Walker, Chandler, Porter, Dexter, and Fisher;
- Names with a wide range of origins that happen to end in -er like Asher, Xavier, Jasper, River, and Elmer;
- Nouveau coinages that sound like both categories, including Skyler, Kyler, Zander, and Ryker.
An archer’s job was all about bowmanship. William the Conqueror brought archers with him from France in 1066. In Old French, the word was archier, derived from the Latin arcus – bow.
Archibald has different origins – he’s Germanic, but was also imported to England by the Normans. But his spelling evolved thanks to the Greek archos – master.
There’s no shortage of places expectant parents might hear Archer, including:
- Animated FX series Archer premiered in January 2010. Sterling Archer appears to be a super-spy, in the key of James Bond. Only he’s something of a bungler, more interested in the job’s perks than actually saving the day. It’s very much a grown-up cartoon, and maybe not much of an inspiration for a child’s name, but if all you’ve seen is the promos, it would put Archer in the back of your brain;
- Edith Wharton’s Newland Archer was usually referred to as Archer, lending the name some literary romance, though he’s quite the tortured soul in Wharton’s Pulitzer-winning Age of Innocence;
- The longest running soap opera is BBC Radio 4’s The Archers. Named for the radio program’s main family, the drama debuted in 1950;
- Robin Hood is known for being quite handy with a bow and arrow. The recent BBC television version of his life gave Robin of Locksley an equally skilled half-brother called Archer;
- In sci fi prequel Star Trek: Enterprise, actor Scott Bakula took the helm as Captain Jonathan Archer.
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All of those Archers are fictional. There’s no shortage of real life people answering to Mr. or Ms. Archer, too, from athletes to writers to politicians. The seven Archer brothers were among the first settlers in Queensland, Australia, probably explaining Archer’s greater popularity there than elsewhere in the English-speaking world.
If you’re looking for an unusual, current choice, Archer is one to consider. But it is too soon to say if he’ll join his fellow ends-in-er names near the top of the charts. If you’re seeking something truly trend-proof, Archer might not be your best bet. Then again, if there’s an Arch- name on your family tree, Archer is an easy way to update an ancestor’s name for 2010.
Sarah says
April 30, 2012 at 10:32 PMArcher, Hunter or Fisher might be the only names I could convince my husband to use over the terrible “Eric Jr.” that he so gleefully suggests. Archer is actually pretty cute.
Bess says
January 30, 2012 at 3:33 PMWe named our son Archer in spring of 2009. Then, a month later, another baby at our church showed up with the name. I think it might become trendy, but at least we are at the front of the trend! I have about 10 friends who have named their sons Jack.
frankie goes2hollywood says
September 7, 2011 at 4:17 AMWe named our son Archer… I still think it’s pretty awesome (but I’m biased). As a small child we’ll call him Archie for sure… his middle name starts with a J so he can always go by AJ or Arch when he’s a teenager.
L. says
December 4, 2010 at 11:17 PMI love Archer! I tell my husband I want to use it to honor my hometown and it’s landmark, the St. Louis Arch. And our daughter could be Louisa.
appellationmountain says
December 5, 2010 at 2:28 PMClearly, you need to have boy/girl twins called Archer and Louisa! 🙂
Sarah says
October 20, 2010 at 7:21 PMVASTLY prefer Arthur.
Georgeonna says
October 17, 2010 at 1:16 PMMy son’s middle name is Archer and I love it so much, I almost wish we had used it for his first name!
British American says
October 15, 2010 at 1:57 PMI like Archer. Though I probably like Arthur more.
I certainly like that Archer is a much cooler was to Archie, than Archibald. The whole “bald” part of that name just doesn’t seem like a good idea for a guy.
appellationmountain says
October 15, 2010 at 6:02 PMI agree about Archibald. I want to love it, but it just doesn’t grab me.
Sparkle says
December 5, 2010 at 4:03 PMYes imagine the teasing! But surprisingly I like Archer!
appellationmountain says
October 15, 2010 at 6:12 AMMy husband says that Archer sounds like a child saying Arthur … so it would be out for us. But I do like this one.
Lady Gwyn says
October 14, 2010 at 11:11 PMI like Archer, but I would use Asher first. I think Archer has the potential to shoot up the charts, which would make me want to use it less.
Sara says
October 14, 2010 at 10:07 PMI love Archer, but honestly, if I were going for an archery/profession name, I’d choose Fletcher. We have a family friend by that name and I have always loved it.
appellationmountain says
October 15, 2010 at 6:29 AMFletcher is fun, too!
julie says
October 14, 2010 at 5:11 PMI like Archer a lot, but it breaks all of my “rules”. (No word names, no surnames, no trendy names…)
You hit the nail on the head when you compared Archer to Hunter and Carter, when you add in a “cool nickname” that so many -er names lack, you’ve got a top 100 in the making. Archer just needs a celebrity to propel it and I could really see Chris Daughtry or Dierks Bentley with sons named Archer.
Eva says
October 14, 2010 at 9:11 PMI love Dierks Bentley and the idea of him naming his son Archer! He has a surname as a first name so it would be perfect. I believe he has a daughter named Evalyn.
Eva says
October 14, 2010 at 4:21 PMArcher is cool! My brother used to have a little stuffed black bear named Archer. I don’t know where he came up with the name, but whenever I hear Archer, I think of that bear! Who knew my brother could pick such stylish names? 🙂
Danielle says
October 14, 2010 at 3:30 PMI probably would never actually use Archer, but I do find it appealing in that you can get super cute Archie without resorting to Archibald.
tracylyn42 says
October 14, 2010 at 12:28 PMAs a Sagittarius, I like Archer as an obscure little namesake… My husband, the Leo, does not embrace my love for astrological choices, but I think your previous NOTD Leona might be growing on him. 🙂