Fern

See also: fern

English

Etymology

From fern; in the case of the surname, it was given to someone who lived in a place where there was an abundance of these plants.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /fɜːn/
• (US) IPA^(key): /fɝːn/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)n

Proper noun

Fern (plural Ferns)

1. A female given name.
   • 1952, E. B. White, Charlotte's Web:

     "Charlotte is the best storyteller I ever heard," said Fern, poking her dish towel into a cereal bowl.

2. A topographic surname.

Statistics

• According to the 2010 United States Census, Fern is the 12491^st most common surname in the United States, belonging to 2482 individuals. Fern is most common among White (88.36%) individuals.

Further reading

• Hanks, Patrick, editor (2003), “Fern”, in Dictionary of American Family Names, volume 1, New York City: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 566.

Anagrams

• fren, fren', nerf