Fun Facts About the Name Gunner
- More than 23 thousand babies named Gunner: U.S. records list 23,493 babies given the name Gunner from 1880 through 2025. Even 22 girls received the name Gunner - about 1 girl for every 1,067 boys.
What Does the Name Gunner Mean?
Gunner is an English masculine given name. Its most direct source is the English occupational term gunner, meaning a person who operates a gun or cannon; the word comes from Middle English gonner, from gonne, 'gun.' A separate source is the Old Norse personal name Gunnarr (Scandinavian Gunnar), formed from gunnr, 'war,' and herr, 'army.' Its literal components are 'war' and 'army,' while the customary interpretation is 'warrior' or 'army warrior.' The English surname Gunner can come from either the occupation or the Old Norse name, so the given name has overlapping strands rather than one single etymology.
Gunner Name History & Origins
The English word gunner is found in Middle English as gonner, an agent noun from gonne, 'gun.' It referred to a soldier or specialist who served a cannon or other firearm, and the occupational surname Gunner was used for such a person. The surname Gunner later passed into use as a first name. The same surname could also derive from the Old Norse personal name Gunnarr, which was brought to parts of England by Scandinavian settlers.
Gunnarr is attested in medieval Scandinavian sources. It appears as Gunnar Hámundarson in Njáls saga and as Gunnar in the Völsunga saga and related heroic poems. Those are famous literary uses, not the origin of the name. In English, Gunner is often treated as an Anglicized spelling of Scandinavian Gunnar; the two have different pronunciations, but modern use has linked them.
How Popular is the Name Gunner?
Gunner recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 2015. Its best rank was #235 in 2014.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | #14,092 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 2018 | #16,522 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2015 | #15,165 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2013 | #17,498 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #506 | 597 | 0.0350% |
| 2024 | #519 | 587 | 0.0342% |
| 2023 | #440 | 708 | 0.0414% |
| 2022 | #386 | 828 | 0.0475% |
| 2021 | #324 | 1,021 | 0.0584% |
| 2020 | #308 | 1,071 | 0.0621% |
| 2019 | #295 | 1,173 | 0.0654% |
| 2018 | #281 | 1,251 | 0.0689% |
| 2017 | #262 | 1,394 | 0.0753% |
| 2016 | #250 | 1,453 | 0.0766% |
| 2015 | #239 | 1,589 | 0.0829% |
| 2014 | #235 | 1,578 | 0.0822% |
| 2013 | #239 | 1,512 | 0.0799% |
| 2012 | #293 | 1,203 | 0.0634% |
| 2011 | #333 | 911 | 0.0480% |
| 2010 | #369 | 798 | 0.0416% |
| 2009 | #398 | 745 | 0.0376% |
| 2008 | #474 | 585 | 0.0287% |
| 2007 | #501 | 525 | 0.0253% |
| 2006 | #579 | 426 | 0.0207% |
| 2005 | #620 | 358 | 0.0179% |
| 2004 | #597 | 364 | 0.0183% |
| 2003 | #630 | 326 | 0.0165% |
| 2002 | #637 | 305 | 0.0157% |
| 2001 | #669 | 272 | 0.0140% |
| 2000 | #715 | 244 | 0.0124% |
| 1999 | #741 | 219 | 0.0114% |
| 1998 | #666 | 256 | 0.0134% |
| 1997 | #732 | 210 | 0.0111% |
| 1996 | #813 | 177 | 0.0093% |
| 1995 | #758 | 203 | 0.0107% |
| 1994 | #876 | 152 | 0.0079% |
| 1993 | #1,197 | 88 | 0.0045% |
| 1992 | #1,170 | 90 | 0.0045% |
| 1991 | #1,113 | 97 | 0.0048% |
| 1990 | #3,002 | 21 | 0.0010% |
| 1989 | #3,692 | 15 | 0.0007% |
| 1988 | #3,769 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1987 | #4,704 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1986 | #5,039 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1985 | #4,455 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1984 | #3,163 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 1983 | #3,483 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1982 | #6,715 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1981 | #5,764 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1980 | #5,795 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1978 | #5,332 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1976 | #4,157 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1975 | #4,082 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1972 | #3,443 | 9 | 0.0006% |
| 1970 | #4,434 | 6 | 0.0003% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Gunner Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You are introspective, prophetic, philosophical, and soul searching, but also can be analytical, critical and opinionated. You think deeply and clearly, have an air of mystery, can be solitary and secretive. Emergencies may raise your intuitive abilities in order to resolve conflict or situation. You become very creative under the pressure, and have quite original ideas to make the best out of it.
You are very intuitive. You have a reservoir of inspired wisdom combined with inherited analytical ability, which could reward you through expressions of spiritual leadership, business analysis, marketing, artistic visions, and scientific research. Operating on spiritual side of your individuality can bring you to the great heights, and drop you off if you neglect your spiritual identity. You are always looking for an opportunity to investigate the unknown, to use and show your mental abilities, to find the purpose and meaning of life. You want to grow wise and to understand people and things. You need privacy to replenish your energy. You have a unique way of thinking, intuitive, reflective, absorbing.
✦ Gunner's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Gunner's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.