The surname Forey 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.
The surname Forey 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.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Forey research. Another 345 words (25 lines of text) covering the years 1310, 1442, 1539, 1620, 1638, 1790, 1793, 1726, 1580, 1659, 1636, 1712, 1729, 1796 and 1753 are included under the topic Early Forey History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
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.
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...
Another 32 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Forey Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
In France, the name Forey is the 9,140th most popular surname with an estimated 500 - 1,000 people with that name. [1]