The Forrest surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 22,954 people carried this name — #1,569 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 12,900 people counted. That is up 4% from 22,124 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Forrest surname
A topographical surname from Middle English for someone who lived or worked in a Royal forest (area of woodland reserved for hunting).
English surname, from the noun forest. Also adopted and translated from the word for "forest" in various other languages by settlers.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Forrest» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890
Ireland registered 9 births for the Forrest name in 1890.
Most were registered in Munster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 400 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. One of them was indexed under another spelling of the name. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “Cork.”
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born, 1890
Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 46 people named Forrest live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in West Flanders.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
39 people named Forrest live in Switzerland.
They live in 6 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Geneva.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
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 31 people named Forrest.
Most of them — 20 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 2 départements, most often Nord.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In the Nordic population registers
27 people named Forrest is counted in Sweden.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.
Counted, by country
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).
Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s
Forrest was found among the farmers of Lancashire: 9 in every 10,000.
Guppy counted the farmers listed in each county’s directory and recorded a name only where it reached about 7 in every 10,000; where it does not appear, it was rarer than that, not absent.
Where it concentrates, on the mapPer 10,000 farmers, by county
H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), alphabetical list of English and Welsh names — public domain · farmers in Kelly’s Post Office Directories of the 1880s, per 10,000 farmers in each county.
In Scotland, 1880s
Forrest was 13 in every 10,000 names in Scotland.
That is about 1 in 769. Its home there, in Guppy’s words: “South of the Forth and the Clyde.” 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
Forrest was recorded 108 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.
That made it the 233rd most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 160. 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
84 families named Forrest, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.
Each family is counted by its head. About 383 people lived in those households, 4.6 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 5 other spellings. 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
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
Forrest in American newspapers,
1887.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 13,234 pages in all carry the name.
In print
Forrest in Australian newspapers,
1810s–2000s.
129,440 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Forrest. The most, 25,425, date from the 1890s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Western Australia, at 4.1 times its expected share.
Articles, by state
Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Forrest.
Who carried it
People named Forrest,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Anthony Forrest d. 1631 · politician
-
Dulany Forrest d. 1825 · military officer
-
Henry Forrest d. 1533 · Catholic priest
-
Matthew G. Forrest d. 1983 · marine architect
-
Isabel Forrest d. 1606
-
Margaret Forrest d. 1998
Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
In the public record
People named Forrest,
in the records of 7 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 States2,356 records
- U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 763
- New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 465
- Other U.S. records 1,128
-
Example: U.S. registration card, 1942 Military record John E. ForrestBorn 1909 in Alabama. Enlisted 1942 at Fort Jay Governors Island, New York; mechanic. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1999, buried at Calverton National Cemetery, New York.
U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) -
Example: passenger manifest, 1903 Passenger record Jessie ForrestArrived at New York in 1892 aboard the Teutonic from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 36; shopwoman. From Glasgow, Scotland; bound for New York.
U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) -
Example: U.S. war memorial War record Monte Wayne ForrestBorn 1948; from Argonia, Kansas. U.S. Army, cannon crewmember; killed in action 1970 in Quang Tin, South Vietnam.
U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
Showing 3 of 2,356 records for Forrest 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, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · 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) · New York State, Open NY (police and firefighter memorial rolls). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain).
Australia2,015 records
- Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 1,100
- Queensland State Archives indexes 365
- Other Australian records 550
-
Example: probate petition, 1848 Probate record Susan Henrietta ForrestDied 1893 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 68. Will registered in Tasmania in 1893.
Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) -
Example: marriage register, 1911 Marriage record William ForrestApplied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1843. Married 1844 in Launceston, Tasmania, aged 33.
Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) -
Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829 Transportation record William ForrestTransported to New South Wales aboard the Champion, arriving 1827; ticket of leave 1834. Native of Leith.
Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
Showing 3 of 2,015 records for Forrest 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: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain).
Canada723 records
- Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 558
- City of Calgary cemetery records 45
- Other Canadian records 120
-
Example: Canadian cemetery Burial record John ForrestKilled in the Halifax Explosion of 1917, aged 51; buried at St John's Cemetery, Halifax.
Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. -
Example: Canadian cemetery Burial record Mary Catherine ForrestBuried in 1970 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 82.
City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. -
Example: Canadian cemetery Burial record William ForrestDied 1999, aged 63; buried at Brookside Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.
City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.
Showing 3 of 723 records for Forrest in Canada.
Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · 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 Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).
United Kingdom129 records
- War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 56
- Stirling Council burial records 40
- Other British records 33
-
Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919 War record George ForrestBorn 1889 at Forres; bookseller's assistant. Served in the First World War. Named in the Morayshire roll of honour (1921).
National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain) -
Example: burial register, 1858 Burial record John R. ForrestBuried in 1981 at Kilmadock Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland, aged 87.
Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. -
Example: probate petition, 1848 Probate record James ForrestWill proved in 1935; of Ormskirk, Lancaster.
National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)
Showing 3 of 129 records for Forrest in the United Kingdom.
Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0). 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); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).
New Zealand39 records
- Christchurch City cemetery records 20
- Marlborough District cemetery records 17
- Waimakariri District cemetery records, Canterbury 2
-
Example: burial register, 1858 Burial record Agnes ForrestDied 1944, aged 70; buried at Bromley Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.
Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) -
Example: burial register, 1858 Burial record Agnes ForrestDied 1994, aged 94; buried at Omaka Cemetery, Marlborough.
Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0) -
Example: burial register, 1858 Burial record Isabella Murray ForrestDied 1923; buried at Cust Cemetery, Canterbury.
Waimakariri District Council (CC BY 4.0)
Showing 3 of 39 records for Forrest in New Zealand.
Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Waimakariri District Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).
Netherlands22 records
- Dutch church registers before 1811 17
- Dutch population registers 3
- Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 2
-
Example: civil register, 1880 Death record Anne ForrestDied 1833 in Rotterdam, aged 31.
Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0) -
Example: marriage register, 1911 Marriage record Lijsbeth ForrestMarried in 1607 in Gorinchem; born in Scotland.
Open Archives, Archief Delft (CC BY 4.0) -
Example: marriage register, 1911 Marriage record Elijsabet ForrestMarried in 1744 in Bergen op Zoom; born in Zierikzee.
Open Archives, West Brabants Archief (CC BY 4.0)
Showing 3 of 22 records for Forrest in the Netherlands.
Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).
France11 records
-
Example: French death register, 1930 Death record Alphonse Marie Joseph ForrestBorn 1917 in Bousbecque (Nord); died 1995 in Bormes-les-Mimosas (Var).
Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte) -
Example: French death register, 1930 Death record Maria Marie Joseph ForrestBorn 1904 in Bousbecque; died 1995 in Halluin (Nord).
Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte) -
Example: French death register, 1930 Death record Christopher James ForrestBorn 1950 in Great Britain; died 2001 in Carcassonne (Aude).
Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
Showing 3 of 11 records for Forrest 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).
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Forrest.
- Forneris 196 · U.S. census
- Fornero 149 · U.S. census
- Fornes 566 · U.S. census
- Forney 6,755 · U.S. census
- Forni 589 · U.S. census
- Forray 134 · U.S. census
- Forrester 13,878 · U.S. census
- Forret 187 · U.S. census
- Forsberg 4,294 · U.S. census
- Forst 2,283 · U.S. census
- Forster 9,116 · U.S. census
- Forsyth 8,450 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Forrest 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.