Summer

Summer is an English name taken from the word for the warmest season of the year, a word that goes back to Old English sumor. It is pronounced SUH-mur, just like the season.

Among its best-known bearers is the American actress Summer Glau, who played River Tam in the science fiction series Firefly and the film Serenity. The name is also familiar from Summer Roberts, one of the main characters in the television drama The O.C.

Summer was uncommon in the United States until the mid-1970s, when it rose from 533rd in 1974 to its highest rank, 119th, in 1977. Its biggest year by number of babies came later, in 1998, when 2,558 were given the name. It remains in steady use, ranking 151st in 2025 with 1,973 babies.