Arrow has 1,639 total SSA uses at rank 1,672 — a word name that has been quietly climbing as nature-adjacent and object names have expanded far beyond traditional botanical and celestial choices.
Old English roots and the archer tradition
The English word "arrow" derives from Old English earh or arwe, with cognates in Old Norse ör and Gothic arhwazna. The root connects to Proto-Germanic and ultimately to an Indo-European base associated with hunting and speed. As a name, Arrow carries the symbolism of direction, purpose, and precision — a name that implies the bearer knows where they are going. It sits in a similar semantic space to Archer, which has surged dramatically in the last decade, and parents who love Archer but want something more stripped-down sometimes land on Arrow as the natural reduction. For parents drawn to Old English word names, Arrow has both genuine etymological roots and a spare, modern feel.
The object-name trend
Arrow belongs to a growing category of English-language object names that have entered baby-naming conversation: Flint, Reef, Slate, Blade, Lark. These names appeal to parents who want something concrete, visual, and free of conventional name associations. Arrow appears in the SSA data for both males and females, which makes it one of the more comfortably gender-neutral entries in this space — it doesn't read as coded in either direction. The TV series Arrow (2012–2020) almost certainly contributed to the name's visibility, though the character's actual given name in that series is Oliver, not Arrow.
Pairing and sibling profile
Arrow works best with traditional middle names that provide grounding contrast: Arrow James, Arrow Mae, Arrow Elise. Parents who choose Arrow often build sibling sets that stay in the nature-and-object lane: River, Fox, Lark, Stone. The name is short enough — two syllables — that it handles a longer surname gracefully without creating the heavy consonant pile-up that some one-syllable object names produce.