Foos History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The ancestors of the bearers of the Foos family name are thought have lived in ancient Anglo-Saxon England. They were first found in Doultin and Shepton Mallet on either side of Fosse Way. The surname Foos is a topographic surname which literally means "ditch of a fortified place" 1 2 but two sources claim the name to mean "waterfall." 3 4

Anciently, the name could have been Norman as the Magni Rotuli Scaccarii Normanniae shows Geoffry, Hubert, Ralph, Richard, Stephen de Fossa, or De la Fosse of Normandy in 1198. 5

Early Origins of the Foos family

The surname Foos was first found in Sussex where John del Fosse was recorded in 1199. Later the Hundredorum Rolls of 1272 listed Roger de Fossa and Richard de la Fosse of England, but no counties were listed. 5

The Curia Regis Rolls include an entry for Richard atte Fosse, 1 Edward II (during the first year of the reign of King Edward II.) Later the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 listed Johannes Fosse and Willelmus de Fosse. 3

Over in Somerset, records there show: Richard de Fosse; Margery atte Fosse; and Robert atte Fosse. All were recorded 1 Edward III. 6

"In Somerset the surname is recorded from Doulting and Shepton Mallet, on each side of the Fosse Way, along which lie three farms named Fosse in Wiltshire, four in Warwickshire and two in Nottinghamshire." 7

Early History of the Foos family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Foos research. Another 112 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1284, 1327, 1379, 1787, 1804, 1811, 1814, 1822, 1830, 1837, 1839, 1840, 1844, 1850, 1853, 1865 and 1870 are included under the topic Early Foos History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Foos Spelling Variations

Until quite recently, the English language has lacked a definite system of spelling rules. Consequently, Anglo-Saxon surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. Changes in Anglo-Saxon names were influenced by the evolution of the English language, as it incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other languages. Although Medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, so it is common to find one person referred to by several different spellings of his surname, even the most literate people varied the spelling of their own names. Variations of the name Foos include Foss, Fosse, Fos, Voss, Foose, Foos and others.

Early Notables of the Foos family

Notables of this surname at this time include: Edward Foss (1787-1870), English biographer, eldest son of Edward Smith Foss, solicitor, of 36 Essex Street, Strand, London, by Anne, his wife, daughter of Dr. William Rose of Chiswick, born in Gough Square, Fleet Street, 16 Oct. 1787. He was educated under Dr. Charles Burney, his mother's brother-in-law, at Greenwich, and remained there until he was articled in 1804 to his father, whose partner he became in 1811. In 1822 he became a member of the Inner Temple, but never proceeded further towards a call to the bar. Upon his father's death, in...
Another 141 words (10 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Foos Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Foos Ranking

In the United States, the name Foos is the 15,837^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 8

Foos migration to the United States +

Searching for a better life, many English families migrated to British colonies. Unfortunately, the majority of them traveled under extremely harsh conditions: overcrowding on the ships caused the majority of the immigrants to arrive diseased, famished, and destitute from the long journey across the ocean. For those families that arrived safely, modest prosperity was attainable, and many went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the new colonies. Research into the origins of individual families in North America revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Foos or a variant listed above:

Foos Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Casper Foos, who arrived in New York in 1842 9

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Arthur, William , An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names. London: 1857. Print
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
Dickinson, F.H., Kirby's Quest for Somerset of 16th of Edward the 3rd London: Harrison and Sons, Printers in Ordinary to Her Majesty, St, Martin's Lane, 1889. Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)