Contents [hide]

Foreman History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Ireland United States Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Suggested Reading Citations

Foreman History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland
Scotland

Early Origins of the Foreman family

The surname Foreman was first found in Yorkshire where the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 included some of the first listings of the family: Ricardus Forman; Johannes Forman; and Robertus Formain. All held estates there at that time. 1

However, another source notes that Alan Forman and Robert Fourman were both listed in the Subsidy Rolls of Yorkshire in 1327. 2

Due to Yorkshire's geographic proximity to Scotland, its very probable that records there would reveal more family records. In Scotland, the name is "perhaps from English Forman (13th century), older Formann, Latinized Formannus. Robert Foreman of Edinburghshire rendered homage, [to King Edward I of England] in 1296. Adam Forman was scutifer to Arnchibald, earl of Douglas, 1426. John Forman witnessed sealing of an inquest anent a fishing on the Tweed, 1467, and in 1474 payment was made to John Forman, Scottish merchant." 3

Early History of the Foreman family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Foreman research. Another 167 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1465, 1501, 1504, 1513, 1514, 1521, 1522, 1539, 1552, 1562, 1611, 1696, 1743 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Foreman History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Foreman Spelling Variations

The name Foreman, appeared in many references, and from time to time, the surname was spelt Forman, Foreman, Formon, Fourman and others.

Early Notables of the Foreman family

Notable amongst the family name during their early history was Andrew Forman (c.1465-11 March 1522), a Scottish diplomat and prelate. He rose to become Archbishop of St. Andrews, and is said to have been one of the Formans of Hatton, near Berwick-on-Tweed. He also was Bishop of Moray in 1501, and Archbishop...
Another 51 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Foreman Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Foreman Ranking

In the United States, the name Foreman is the 976^th most popular surname with an estimated 29,844 people with that name. 4

Migration of the Foreman family to Ireland

Some of the Foreman family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 50 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Foreman migration to the United States +

The New World beckoned as many of the settlers in Ireland, known as the Scotch/Irish, became disenchanted. They sailed aboard the armada of sailing ships known as the "White Sails" which plied the stormy Atlantic. Some called them, less romantically, the "coffin ships." Amongst the early settlers who could be considered kinsmen of the Foreman family, or who bore a variation of the surname Foreman were

Foreman Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Samwell Foreman, who landed in Virginia in 1622 5
Samuel Foreman purchased land in Virginia in 1623
William Foreman, who arrived in Virginia in 1653 5
Andrew Foreman, who landed in Virginia in 1663 5
Robert Foreman, who arrived in Maryland in 1674 5
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Foreman Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Richard Foreman, who arrived in Virginia in 1719 5
George Foreman, who landed in Mississippi in 1798 5

Foreman Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

John Foreman, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County Pennsylvania in 1836 5
J G Foreman, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1851 5
Ann Rebecca Foreman, who arrived in Colorado in 1887 5
Walter Henry Foreman, who landed in Colorado in 1887 5
Thomas Foreman, who arrived in Colorado in 1888 5

Foreman migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Foreman Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. William Foreman, (Revell), British Convict who was convicted in Chatham, Kent, England for 14 years , transported aboard the "Commodore Hayes" in April 1823, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 6
Mr. Thomas Foreman, English convict who was convicted in Middlesex, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Atlas" on 27th April 1833, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 7
Mr. James Foreman, British Convict who was convicted in Kent, England for life, transported aboard the "Coromandel" on 25th June 1838, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 8
John Foreman, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Buckinghamshire" in 1839 9
John Foreman, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "D'Auvergne" in 1839 10
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Foreman migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Foreman Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. Richard White Foreman, (b. 1797), aged 43, British shoemaker, born in Kent travelling from Plymouth aboard the ship "Oriental" arriving in New Plymouth, Taranaki, North Island, New Zealand via Wellington on 7th November 1841 11
Mrs. Susannah Foreman née Gore, (b. 1794), aged 47, British settler, born in Kent travelling from Plymouth aboard the ship "Oriental" arriving in New Plymouth, Taranaki, North Island, New Zealand via Wellington on 7th November 1841 11
Mr. David Foreman (Sole), (b. 1822), aged 18, British settler, born in Kent travelling from Plymouth aboard the ship "Oriental" arriving in New Plymouth, Taranaki, North Island, New Zealand via Wellington on 7th November 1841 11
Mr. Richard White Foreman, Jr., (b. 1823), aged 17, British settler, born in Kent travelling from Plymouth aboard the ship "Oriental" arriving in New Plymouth, Taranaki, North Island, New Zealand via Wellington on 7th November 1841 11
Mr. James Foreman (Sole), (b. 1819), aged 22, British settler, born in Kent travelling from Plymouth aboard the ship "Oriental" arriving in New Plymouth, Taranaki, North Island, New Zealand via Wellington on 7th November 1841 11
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Foreman (post 1700) +

George Edward Foreman (b. 1949), American two-time former World Heavyweight Boxing Champion, Olympic gold medalist, and successful entrepreneur
David Foreman (1947-2022), American environmentalist and author from Albuquerque, New Mexico, co-founder of Earth First!
Edgar Franklin "Ed" Foreman Jr. (1933-2022), American politician, member of the United States House of Representatives from Texas (1963-1965)
Earl Foreman (1924-2017), American lawyer and sports executive who owned an interest in the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League
Deborah Lynn Foreman (b. 1962), American actress
Francis Isaiah "Monkey" Foreman (1863-1957), American Major League Baseball starting pitcher
Jonathan Mark Foreman (b. 1976), the lead singer, lead guitarist, and co-founder of the alternative rock band Switchfoot
Captain Michael J. Foreman (b. 1957), NASA Astronaut with over 637 hours in space 12
Carl Foreman CBE (1914-1984), American producer, writer and director of movies "High Noon" and "The Men"
Walter "Chuck" Foreman (b. 1950), American retired American NFL football running back
... (Another 7 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Foreman family +

RMS Titanic

Mr. Benjamin Laventall Foreman (d. 1912), aged 30, American First Class passenger from New York City, New York who sailed aboard the RMS Titanic and died in the sinking 13

USS Arizona

Mr. Elmer Lee Foreman, American Fireman Second Class from Indiana, USA working aboard the ship "USS Arizona" when she sunk during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7th December 1941, he died in the sinking 14

Citations +

Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
"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)
Convict Records of Australia. Retrieved 4th March 2021 from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/commodore-hayes
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 14th July 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/atlas
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 19th March 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/coromandel
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) BUCKINGHAMSHIRE 1839. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1839Buckinghamshire.htm
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) D'AUVERGNE 1839. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1839D'Auvergne.htm
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
NASA Astronauts Homepage. (Retrieved 2010, September 27) Michael Foreman. Retrieved from http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/foreman.html
Titanic Passenger List - Titanic Facts. (Retrieved 2016, July 13) . Retrieved from http://www.titanicfacts.net/titanic-passenger-list.html
Pearl Harbour: USS Arizona Casualties List Pearl Harbour December 7, 1941. (Retrieved 2018, July 31st). Retrieved from http://pearl-harbor.com/arizona/casualtylist.html