Contents [hide]

Forest History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables World Ranking

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Motto Citations

Forest History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
France

The surname Forest is a topographic surname, which was given to a person who resided near a physical feature such as a hill, stream, church, or type of tree. Habitation names form the other broad category of surnames that were derived from place-names. They were derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. Other local names are derived from the names of houses, manors, estates, regions, and entire counties. As a general rule, the greater the distance between an individual and their homeland, the larger the territory they were named after. For example, a person who only moved to another parish would be known by the name of their original village, while people who migrated to a different country were often known by the name of a region or country from which they came. The name Foret is derived from the Old French word "foret," meaning "forest," and distinguished a person who lived in or near such a place. In some cases it may have been used as an occupational surname for a forester.

Early Origins of the Forest family

The surname Forest was first found in Savoy (French: Savoie) in the Rhône-Alpes region of the French Alps, where this renowned family held a family seat from ancient times.

In England, the Forey spelling was preferred as the "ey" provided the long "a" sound instead of the typical "êt" spelling used in France which provided the same sound.

Early History of the Forest family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Forest research. Another 345 words (25 lines of text) covering the years 1310, 1442, 1534, 1537, 1539, 1580, 1620, 1636, 1638, 1659, 1712, 1726, 1729, 1753, 1767, 1789, 1790, 1793, 1796, 1804, 1835 and 1872 are included under the topic Early Forest History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Forest Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Foret, Forest, Forez, Forait, Foraie, Forais, Foraies, Foré, Forêt, Forêst, Forer, Forey, La Foret, La Forest, La Forez, La Forait, La Foraie, La Forais, La Foraies, La Foré, La Forêt, La Forêst, Laforest, La Forer and many more.

Early Notables of the Forest family

Notable in the family name at this time was

Guillaume de La Forest, Magistrate of Faucigny; Laurenz Forer (1580-1659), a Swiss Jesuit theologian and controversialist; and Jean-Baptiste Forest, (1636-1712) a French landscape painter
Jean de La Forêt, (Foret) also Jean de La Forest or Jehan de la Forest (died 1537), was the first official French Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, serving from 1534 to 1537

Forest World Ranking

In the United States, the name Forest is the 4,727^th most popular surname with an estimated 7,461 people with that name. 1 However, in Canada, the name Forest is ranked the 876^th most popular surname with an estimated 6,087 people with that name. 2 And in Quebec, Canada, the name Forest is the 399^th popular surname. 3 France ranks Forest as 632^nd with 7,475 people. 4

Forest migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Forest Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

George Forest, who settled in Virginia in 1607
George Forest, who landed in Jamestown Va in 1607 5
George Forest, who settled in Virginia in 1608
Daniel Forest, who settled in Virginia in 1651
James Forest, who settled in Virginia in 1654
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Forest Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Jean Baptiste Forest, who arrived in South Carolina in 1755 5
Paul Forest, who landed in South Carolina in 1755 5
Anthony Forest, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1758 5
Benoist Forest, who arrived in Connecticut in 1763 5
Marie Forest, who landed in Maryland in 1763 5
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Forest Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Robert Forest, who landed in New York in 1813 5
John Forest, who landed in New York, NY in 1816 5
Lemuel De Forest, aged 30, settled in New York in 1820
Joseph Forest, who arrived in Tippecanoe County, Ind in 1848 5
J Forest, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1850 5

Forest migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Forest Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Joseph Forest, son of René and Françoise, who married Marie Guillebaud, daughter of Charles and Anne, in Port-Royal, Quebec on 25th November 1720 6
François Forest, son of René and Françoise, who married Jeanne Girouard, daughter of Alexandre and Marie, in Port-Royal, Quebec on 20th October 1727 6
Joseph Forest, son of Joseph and Anne, who married Agathe Badaillac, daughter of Gilles and Marie-Thérèse, in Saint-Michel, Quebec on 16th September 1765 6
Jean-Baptiste Forest, son of Marin-Paul and Marie-Anne, who married Marie-Anne Guérin, daughter of Joseph and Élisabeth, in Terrebonne, Quebec on 3rd October 1768 6

Forest 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:

Forest Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Jean Forest, aged 37, who arrived in Nelson, New Zealand aboard the ship "London" in 1842
Rev. J. Forest, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "William Stoveld" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 27th November 1843 7
Henry Forest, aged 23, a saddler, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Oliver Lang" in 1856
Maria Forest, aged 27, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Oliver Lang" in 1856

Contemporary Notables of the name Forest (post 1700) +

Léonard Forest (1928-2024), American-born Canadian filmmaker, poet and essayist
James Hendrickson "Jim" Forest (1941-2022), American writer, Orthodox Christian lay theologian, educator, and peace activist
Herbert Léon Forest, American Government Official
Lee De Forest (1873-1961), American inventor with over 180 patents to his credit including the vacuum tube
Frank Forest (1896-1976), American opera singer
Abel De Forest, American politician, Member of New York State Assembly from Otsego County, 1809-10, 1812-14 8
Jean-Marie Forest, French Brigadier General during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars from 1789 to 1815 9
Jean-Claude Forest (1930-1998), French comic book author and creator of Barbarella
Léonard Forest (1928-2024), American-born Canadian filmmaker, poet and essayist
Joseph Léon Bertrand Forest, Canadian Government Official, Quebec

Historic Events for the Forest family +

HMAS Sydney II

Mr. McAdam Carruthers De Forest (1922-1941), Australian Stoker from East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, who sailed into battle aboard HMAS Sydney II and died in the sinking 10

The Forest Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Tout travers
Motto Translation: All through

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
"Surnames Meanings, Origins & Distribution Maps - Forebears." Forebears, https://forebears.io/surnames
"The first 1,000 family names by rank, Quebec (in French only)" Institut de la statistique du Quebec, https://statistique.quebec.ca/en/document/family-names-in-quebec/tableau/the-first-1000-family-names-by-rank-quebec
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
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)
Internoscia, Arthur E., and Claire Chevrier. Dictionnaire National des Canadiens Français 1608-1760. Vol. 1, Institut Drouin, 1958.
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 11) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Generals Who Served in the French Army during the Period 1789-1815. (Retrieved 2015, March 4) Jean-Marie Forest. Retrieved from http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/c_frenchgenerals.html
HMAS Sydney II, Finding Sydney Foundation - Roll of Honour. (Retrieved 2014, April 24) . Retrieved from http://www.findingsydney.com/roll.asp