Boy · English, from Latin through French
Increase
Say it: IN-kreess
Meaning
The English word increase, expressing growth in God's favour.
Certainscholars agree on this meaning.
A New England Puritan name, best known through the Mather family.
Its wave through time
No birth counts are recorded for this name in the records loaded here: it has been given to fewer than five babies a year, or not at all, since records began.
Through the ages
Used by
Famous bearers
- Increase Mather, Puritan minister and Harvard president
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- Puritan church and town records of England and New England
- Colonial records of the Americas
Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.
Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.