The Forbes surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 33,813 people carried this name — #1,028 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 8,730 people counted. That is up 5% from 32,228 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Forbes surname

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a local name, from where the family lived: ‘of Forbes’.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 295 · public domain.

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 22 births for the Forbes name in 1890.

They were registered in all four provinces, most of all in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 1,000 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. 2 of them were indexed under other spellings of the name. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “Antrim and Tyrone.”

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born, 1890

Ulster 14
Connacht 3
Leinster 3
Munster 2

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In Argentina’s national register

At least 93 people named Forbes live in Argentina.

RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Buenos Aires Province 64
City of Buenos Aires 17
Córdoba 12

RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

29 people named Forbes live in Switzerland.

They live in 6 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Zurich 9
Aargau 5
Zug 5
Vaud 4
Basel-Stadt 3
Geneva 3

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 28 people named Forbes.

Most of them — 25 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 2 départements, most often Alpes-Maritimes.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born

Born outside France 25
Alpes-Maritimes 2
Paris 1

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

In Poland’s population register

22 people named Forbes have a registered home in Poland.

Of the 50 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 6 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Masovian.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Masovian 9
Podlaskie 5
Lower Silesian 2
Lubusz 2
Łódź 2
Opole 2

PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.

In the Nordic population registers

38 people named Forbes is counted in Sweden.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 38

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).

In Scotland, 1880s

Forbes was 39 in every 10,000 names in Scotland.

That is about 1 in 256. Its home there, in Guppy’s words: “Aberdeenshire and Perthshire.” He counted the more than 20,000 names in Halliburton’s County Directory of Scotland, taking Scotland as a whole, and listed only the names that reached 10 in every 10,000.

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), appendix: alphabetical list of the most frequent Scottish names, p. 588 — public domain · names in Halliburton’s County Directory of Scotland, per 10,000 for the whole country.

In Scotland’s registers today

Forbes was recorded 184 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 115th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 285. Each birth counts the child’s surname, each marriage both partners’ and each death the surname of the person who died — a yearly count of registrations, not of the people who live in Scotland.

National Records of Scotland, «Most Common Surnames, 2025» (published 26 May 2026): every surname recorded 10 or more times in the 2025 registers, and the series from 1975 · different spellings are counted separately — © Crown copyright 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

112 families named Forbes, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 647 people lived in those households, 5.8 to a family on average. The table counts it together with one other spelling. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Massachusetts 31
North Carolina 30
Connecticut 14
Pennsylvania 13
New York 10
Vermont 5
Maryland 4
Virginia 2
Maine 1
New Hampshire 1
South Carolina 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 240 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Forbes in American newspapers,
1866–1903.

Newspaper page from New Orleans Daily Crescent carrying the name Forbes
New Orleans Daily Crescent 1866-10-29
Newspaper page from Hattiesburg Daily Progress carrying the name Forbes
Hattiesburg Daily Progress 1903-10-10
Newspaper page from The Billings Gazette carrying the name Forbes
The Billings Gazette 1903-09-11

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 14,380 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Forbes in Australian newspapers,
1810s–2010s.

158,422 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Forbes. The most, 30,507, date from the 1930s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in Western Australia, at 1.4 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 50,038
Victoria 37,676
Queensland 25,286
South Australia 20,274
Western Australia 17,377
Tasmania 6,550
ACT (Canberra) 807
Northern Territory 98

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Forbes.

Who carried it

People named Forbes,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Patrick Forbes
    Patrick Forbes 1564–1635 · priest
  • James Forbes
    James Forbes 1628–1712 · writer
  • Duncan Forbes, Lord Culloden
    Duncan Forbes, Lord Culloden 1685–1747 · judge
  • John Forbes
    John Forbes 1707–1759 · military officer
  • John Forbes
    John Forbes 1714–1796 · politician

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped — Patrick Forbes: Nick Thompson (photographer); original painter is unknown, CC BY 3.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0); the others are in the public domain or CC0 · 164 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Forbes,
in the records of 8 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States4,248 records

4,248 records of the Forbes name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 1,054
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 942
  • Other U.S. records 2,252
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Paul Glenn Forbes

    Born 1947; from San Diego, California. U.S. Marine Corps, mortarman; killed in action 1967 in Quang Tri, South Vietnam. Buried at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, California.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Lawrence S. Forbes

    Born 1919 in Massachusetts. Enlisted 1941 at Springfield; office clerk. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 2001, buried at Factory Point Cemetery, Manchester Center, Vermont.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Arthur Forbes

    Arrived at New York in 1904 aboard the Pennsylvania from Hamburg, aged 25; seaman. From London, England; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 4,248 records for Forbes in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia3,718 records

3,718 records of the Forbes name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 1,958
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 644
  • Other Australian records 1,116
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Ann Forbes

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Elizabeth & Henry, sailing from London in 1846. Native of Inverness, Inverness-shire. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1848.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Margaret Forbes

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Baretto Junior, sailing from Downs in 1850. Native of Limerick. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1851. Married 1851 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 20.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Daniel Forbes

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Competitor, sailing from England in 1823. Native of Edinburgh, Midlothian. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1837. Married 1837 in Campbell Town, Tasmania.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 3,718 records for Forbes in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain).

Canada1,778 records

1,778 records of the Forbes name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 1,506
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 68
  • Other Canadian records 204
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record John Forbes

    Came to Ontario in 1874 aboard the Circassian, bound for Paisley, Ontario; Irish.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Andrew Forbes

    Killed in 1867 at the Albion Mine, Cage Pit, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Ian Stormont Forbes

    Buried in 1999 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 85.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.

Showing 3 of 1,778 records for Forbes in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

United Kingdom273 records

273 records of the Forbes name in the United Kingdom
  • Stirling Council burial records 122
  • Scottish rolls of honour, First World War 84
  • Other British records 67
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record James Forbes

    Born 1898 at Grantown-on-Spey. Killed or died by 1921. Named in the Morayshire roll of honour (1921). Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918 (King's Royal Rifle Corps).

    National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain); National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record John Forbes

    Born 1889 at Forres; janitor. Served in the First World War. Named in the Morayshire roll of honour (1921).

    National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Margaret Forbes

    Buried in 1946 at Ballengeich Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland, aged 83.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Showing 3 of 273 records for Forbes in the United Kingdom.

Counts: Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0); Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Netherlands117 records

117 records of the Forbes name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 53
  • Dutch population registers 46
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 18
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Maatje Magdalena Forbes

    Born 1815 in Vlissingen. Married in 1842 in Vlissingen; domestic servant.

    Open Archives, Zeeuws Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Isaac Willem Forbes

    Born 1812 in Vlissingen. Died 1881 in Vlissingen, aged 69.

    Open Archives, Zeeuws Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Hendrik Forbes

    Married in 1812 in Epe; tailor, born 1736 in Deventer.

    Open Archives, Gelders Archief (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 117 records for Forbes in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

New Zealand78 records

78 records of the Forbes name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 65
  • Marlborough District cemetery records 4
  • Other New Zealand records 9
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Annie Forbes

    Died 1929, aged 85; buried at Bromley Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Airdre Jean Forbes

    Died 1994, aged 77; buried at Fairhall Cemetery, Marlborough.

    Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Isabel Leith Forbes

    Buried in 1933 at Shortland Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato, aged 68.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 78 records for Forbes in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Waimakariri District Council (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

France6 records

6 records of the Forbes name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Andrew Laurenson Forbes

    Born 1935 in Great Britain; died 2000 in Aunay-sur-Odon (Calvados).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 1 of 6 records for Forbes in France.

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Norway2 records

2 records of the Forbes name in Norway Norway's 1910 census
  1. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Census record Marie Karoline Forbes

    Census of 1910: Bjølstad, Kraakerøy; housekeeper, born 1855 in Fredrikshald.

    Arkivverket, Digitalarkivet, 1910 census (CC BY 3.0 NO)

Showing 1 of 2 records for Forbes in Norway.

Counts: Arkivverket, Digitalarkivet, 1910 census (CC BY 3.0 NO). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Forbes.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Forbes is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

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