Boy · English (from Old French and Latin) · International
Archer
ArcherSay it AAR-cher
- Meaning today
- Bowman
- Original meaning
- "one who shoots with a bow; originally also a bow-maker" Online Etymology Dictionary, s.v. archer
- Say it
- AAR-cher
Archer
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Archer meaning
Archer is an international boy's name of English origin (from Old French and Latin).
One who shoots with a bow; originally also a bow-maker
Also used to mean: bowman
Archer is the English word for someone who shoots with a bow. The Online Etymology Dictionary traces it through Anglo-French to Old French archier, which meant both an archer and a bow-maker, and back to Latin arcus, "bow". Like Cooper and Carter, it began as a surname for a person's trade and has recently become a first name. For Indian families the meaning has familiar echoes: Arjuna, the archer-hero of the Mahabharata, and the zodiac sign Sagittarius, Dhanu in Indian astrology, are both pictured with the bow. The name is short, clear and easy to pronounce with any surname.
Source: Online Etymology Dictionary (etymonline.com), s.v. archer · entry archer · See the entry · checked 25 Oct 2026
References: Online Etymology Dictionary, archer · Online Etymology Dictionary, Sagittarius
Popularity abroad
- #98 United States, boys 2025 (up 17 from 115 in 2024)
US Social Security Administration - #152 England and Wales, boys 2025
Office for National Statistics
Official birth registrations. India publishes no national name statistics.