An archer ranger does not need a meat shield. The class has reasonable armor and hit points. If enemies close in on the ranger, he has to stop shooting arrows and draw a melee weapon (one-handed if he does not want to drop his bow), but he fights just fine in melee.
On the other hand, an archer ranger cannot serve as a meat shield. He is deliberately standing away from the opponents instead of standing in their way. If another party member needs a meat shield, the archer ranger is not it. Bards and rogues can take care of themselves in combat, but many witches need defending.
At fourth level, the ranger gets an animal companion who can help keep opponents away. But that animal companion is three levels lower than a druid's animal companion, so it cannot endure combat for long.
The fighter does make the best meat shield, and fighters benefit heavily from Strength and should not skimp on Constitution. However, that simply eliminates Elf, Gnome, and Halfling from the possibilities: Dwarf, Half-Elf, Half-Orc, and Human are all workable. Other classes, such as barbarian, cleric, battle oracle, paladin, melee ranger, and samurai are tough enough to shield other party members, and some benefit from other attributes than Strength.
And in Pathfinder, males are no stronger than females.
I hate the term meat shield. It is for weak players to have someone die before them. My sorcerer needs a friend to stand in front of him, but my job is to make sure no hurts my friend.
If you play smart you should not have to worry about it. Granted it is always wise to have someone that can take hits in the party.
Play what you will enjoy. After all it is a game for fun.
Is anyone else playing?
Everybody needs a meat shield. The trick is making sure that the meat shield is doing their job and liking it.
I would suggest you first have a look at what you plan on running before you decide on a DMPC.
I know you are new to GMing, but if you analyse the make up of the encounters (space, opponents, tactics) in the modules you should get a feel for how well an archer will stand up.
Can he get distance on the bad guys? Is there opportunity to hit and run? Are you going to be in tight spaces with limited angles?
Archers generally are looking to engage in battles at range, so playing typical dungeon based adventures may not be the right choice
Archers don't need meat shields if the encounters are set up for the character strengths, and if he uses some tactics and incorporates some planning into his character build. For example, as a ranger he will get the option of the Point Blank Master feat as he levels. This will allow him to shoot at enemies when threatened, so bad guys closing to melee is less of an issue. You could play a spellcaster with battlefield control spells (Grease, Obscuring mist, stinking cloud, web). Its a lot of work on your part, but it will likely be memorable because he gets to play his character to its full potential.
On a final note - if things do go wrong, I wouldnt worry about it. I've been gaming and Gming for 20+ years and i can tell you some of the best and most memorable gaming sessions have come from complete screwups on someone's part. You'll both learn from it.
Sounds like you want a caster. Make use of battlefielf control spells like entangle, web, black tentacles, shifting sands, etc... to keep enemies from reaching the party while your bf shoots them down from afar.
Wizard or sorceror works well. Summoner and Druid get almost as good a selection of battlefield control spells and come with pets to do meat shielding and the ability to summon more, if that is a concern for you.
Or make the sneaky type character, make sure your bf maxes stealth and perception as well, and you two can just win your fights by ambushing foes and killing them off before they even get a chance to react. "Shock and Awe", "Pre-emptive strike", "Alpha Strike"...whatever you want to call the tactic. Shooting the other guy before he can even draw his weapon is a proven tactic. :)