Show ContentsFoster History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Foster Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Etymology of Foster

What does the name Foster mean?

There are three distinct possible origins for this surname: from the Middle English word "foster" meaning "foster-parent, nurse"; an extension of the name Forrester or Forster, meaning "forester"; and the name could be from Forstier, a "shearer" which would eventually evolve to Forster and Foster. 1

The name is "sometimes a contraction of Forester: but there is an origin at least equally probable, viz: fosterer, one who feeds and has the charge of children instead of their parents." 2

Early Origins of the Foster family

The surname Foster was first found in Essex where John Foster was recorded at Colchester in 1373. A few years later, Edward Foster was recorded in the Assize Rolls for Cambridgeshire in 1381. 1

So as to prove the relationship of the Foster variant with Forrester, "the seal of Walter Forestier (1371 AD v, Lo) bore the legend: SIGILLVM. WALTERI. LE. FOSTER. " 1

Early History of the Foster family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Foster research. Another 108 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1379, 1589, 1617, 1635, 1648, 1663, 1681, 1692, 1697, 1698, 1726, 1731, 1753, 1769, 1774, 1790, 1796, 1828, 1831 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Foster History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Foster Spelling Variations

Although the name, Foster, appeared in many references, from time to time, the surname was shown with the spellings Forrester, Forester, Forrest, Forster, Foster, Forrestor and many more.

Early Notables of the Foster family

  • Sir John Forster; Sir Robert Foster (1589-1663), an English judge and Chief Justice of the King's Bench; John Foster (1648-1681), the earliest American engraver and the first Boston printer; and Ann F...
  • Edward Forster (1769-1828), the English miscellaneous writer, born at Colchester, Essex, on 11 June 1769, was the only son of Nathaniel Forster, D.D. (1726?-1790.) 3 Henry Foster (1796-1831), the...

Foster World Ranking

In Australia, the name Foster is the 113rd most popular surname with an estimated 23,738 people with that name. 4 However, in New Zealand, the name Foster is ranked the 108th most popular surname with an estimated 3,923 people with that name. 5 And in the United Kingdom, the name Foster is the 76th popular surname with an estimated 59,483 people with that name. 6 Canada ranks Foster as 160th with 21,790 people. 7 Newfoundland, Canada ranks Foster as 542nd with 85 people. 8 The United States ranks Foster as 93rd with 226,317 people. 9

Migration of the Foster family to Ireland

Some of the Foster family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 93 words (7 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Foster migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia included the Second Fleet of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Second Fleet
  • Mr. Thomas Foster, (d. 1792), British settler convicted in Yorkshire, England in 1790, sentenced to 7 years for stealing, transported aboard the ship "William and Ann" leaving in 1790 arriving in New South Wales, Australia in 1791 10
  • Mr. Samuel Foster, British settler convicted in Warwickshire, England in 1789, sentenced to 7 years for stealing, transported aboard the ship "Admiral Barrington" leaving in 1790 arriving in New South Wales, Australia in 1791 11
Following the Second Fleet, other convicts and early settlers arriving in Australia include:

Foster Settlers in Australia in the 18th Century
Foster Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Mr. Samuel Foster, English convict who was convicted in London, England for life, transported aboard the "Elizabeth" in May 1816, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 12
  • Mr. Edward Foster, English convict who was convicted in Bristol, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Fame" on 9th October 1816, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 13
  • Mr. George Foster, British Convict who was convicted in Kingston Upon Hull, Yorkshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Batavia" in October 1817, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 14
  • Mr. Richard Foster, (b. 1791), aged 28, English bricklayer who was convicted in Lancaster, Lancashire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Coromandel" on 27th October 1819, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land), he died in 1859 15
  • Mr. George Foster, English convict who was convicted in Berkshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Eliza" on 13th July 1822, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 16
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Foster 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:

Foster Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • James Ramsay Foster, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Coromandel" in 1840
  • Mr. John Foster, Australian settler travelling from Sydney aboard the ship "Bee" arriving in New Zealand in 1840 17
  • John Foster, who landed in Wellington, New Zealand in 1840
  • James Ramsay Foster, who landed in Wellington, New Zealand in 1840 aboard the ship Coromandel
  • James Foster, who arrived in Nelson, New Zealand aboard the ship "Bombay" in 1842 18
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Foster (post 1700) +

  • Stephen Edward "Steve" Foster (1946-2018), Australian singer-songwriter and musician from Murray Bridge, South Australia
  • Michael Ralph "Mo" Foster (1944-2023), English multi-instrumentalist, record producer, composer, solo artist, author, and public speaker, known for his work with Jeff Beck, Gil Evans, Phil Collins, Ringo Starr, Joan Armatrading, Gerry Rafferty, Brian May, Scott Walker, Frida of ABBA, Cliff Richard and many more
  • Thomas "Tony" Scholfield Foster (1853-1918), English-born, New Zealand school principal and inspector, university lecturer
  • Robert Foster (1947-2025), American businessman and politician who served as the mayor of Long Beach, California
  • Aloysius Tyrone Foster (1943-2025), American jazz drummer, professional career began in the mid-1960s, played and recorded with hard bop and swing musicians including Blue Mitchell and Illinois Jacquet
  • John Stuart Foster Jr. (1922-2025), American physicist, best known as the fourth director of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and as Director, Defense Research and Engineering under four Secretaries of Defense and two Presidents
  • Hannah Webster Foster (1758-1840), American novelist, he first novel, The Coquette; or, The History of Eliza Wharton, was published anonymously in 1797 and in 1866 with her name on the title page
  • Dwight Alexander Foster (1957-2025), Canadian professional NHL ice hockey player for the Boston Bruins, Colorado Rockies, New Jersey Devils and Detroit Red Wings, before retiring in 1987 because of knee injuries
  • Sophia Foster -Dimino, American comics artist and illustrator who has won three Ignatz Awards
  • ... (Another 42 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Bradford City stadium fire
  • Nellie Foster (1921-1985), from Bradford who attended the Bradford City and Lincoln City Third Division match on 11th May 1985 when the Bradford City stadium fire occurred and she died in the fire she did manage to save her Grandson who was with her
  • Mr. Ernest Foster, British Trimmer from United Kingdom who worked aboard the Empress of Ireland (1914) and survived the sinking 19
  • Mr. Charles Roderick Foster (1935-1996), aged 61, from Sherman, Connecticut, USA, American pilot for Dassault Falcon Jet Co. flying aboard Flight TWA 800 from J.F.K. Airport, New York to Leonardo da Vinci Airport, Rome when the plane crashed after takeoff ; he died in the crash 20
  • Mr. T. Foster, Canadian resident of Frank, Alberta who was buried in the Frank Rock Slide on 29th April 1903 21
  • Mr. William  Foster (1880-1917), Canadian resident from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada who died in the Halifax Explosion (1917) 22
  • ... (Another 34 entries are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
  1. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  2. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  3. Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
  4. "Most Common Last Names in Australia." Forebears, https://forebears.io/australia/surnames
  5. "Most Common Last Names in New Zealand." Forebears, https://forebears.io/new-zealand/surnames
  6. "UK surname ranking." UK Surname map, https://www.surnamemap.eu/unitedkingdom/surnames_ranking.php?p=10
  7. "Surnames Meanings, Origins & Distribution Maps - Forebears." Forebears, https://forebears.io/surnames
  8. The order of Common Surnames in 1955 in Newfoundland retrieved on 20th October 2021 (retrieved from Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland by E.R. Seary corrected edition ISBN 0-7735-1782-0)
  9. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  10. Convict Records of Australia. Retrieved 4th February 2021 from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships
  11. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 24th October 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au
  12. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 1st March 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/elizabeth
  13. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 27th September 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/fairlie
  14. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 30th September 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/batavia
  15. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 12th March 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/coromandel
  16. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 15th February 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/eliza
  17. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  18. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 7th November 2010). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  19. Commemoration Empress of Ireland 2014. (Retrieved 2014, June 17) . Retrieved from http://www.empress2014.ca/seclangen/listepsc1.html
  20. The Washington Post Passenger List TWA Flight 800. (Retrieved 2018, February 15th). Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/twa800/list01.htm
  21. Calgary Herald news article retrieved 11th August 2021. Retrieved from https://smartcdn.prod.postmedia.digital/calgaryherald/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Calgary_Herald_Thu__Apr_30__1903_-copy-scaled.jpg
  22. Halifax Explosion Book of Remembrance | Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. (Retrieved 2014, June 23) . Retrieved from https://maritimemuseum.novascotia.ca/what-see-do/halifax-explosion/halifax-explosion-book-remembrance

Houseofnames.com on Facebook