The Fortune surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 11,748 people carried this name — #3,051 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 25,100 people counted. That is up 7% from 11,016 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Fortune surname
The name of the town in Newfoundland is derived from Portuguese fortuna (“luck, fortune”). The name may refer to a fortuitous event that occurred in the nearby bay.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Fortune» (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 22 births for the Fortune name in 1890.
Most were registered in Leinster. 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. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “17 in Wexford.”
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 France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 916 people named Fortune.
47 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 68 départements, most often Martinique.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 20 people named Fortune 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 Namur.
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 print
Fortune in American newspapers,
1913.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 2,432,586 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Fortune,
with a public archive behind them.
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Rose Fortune 1774–1864 · police officer -
Robert Fortune 1812–1880 · writer -
Robert Fortune 1813–1880 · writer
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Ken Fortune d. 1981
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Lillian Forrester Fortune d. 1954
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Jean Fortune 1645–
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Fortune.
- Fortis 240 · U.S. census
- Fortmann 291 · U.S. census
- Forton 713 · U.S. census
- Fortun 304 · U.S. census
- Fortuna 3,606 · U.S. census
- Fortunato 4,047 · U.S. census
- Fos 213 · U.S. census
- Fossati 250 · U.S. census
- Fosse 739 · U.S. census
- Fossey 282 · U.S. census
- Fossier 157 · U.S. census
- Foster 227,764 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Fortune 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.