Show ContentsForze History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

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  • England
Forze Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Etymology of Forze

What does the name Forze mean?

The ancestry of the name Forze dates from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It comes from when the family lived in Doultin and Shepton Mallet on either side of Fosse Way. The surname Forze 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 Forze family

The surname Forze 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 Forze family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Forze 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 Forze History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Forze Spelling Variations

Spelling variations in names were a common occurrence before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago. In the Middle Ages, even the literate spelled their names differently as the English language incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other European languages. Many variations of the name Forze have been found, including Foss, Fosse, Fos, Voss, Foose, Foos and others.

Early Notables of the Forze family

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 1830, he removed to Essex Street, and carried...
Another 141 words (10 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Forze Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Forze family

Families began migrating abroad in enormous numbers because of the political and religious discontent in England. Often faced with persecution and starvation in England, the possibilities of the New World attracted many English people. Although the ocean trips took many lives, those who did get to North America were instrumental in building the necessary groundwork for what would become for new powerful nations. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America bore the name Forze, or a variant listed above: Jean Fosse, who landed in Louisiana in 1719; Nicholas Foss, who settled in Philadelphia in 1731; Michael Foss, who came to Pennsylvania in 1747; Phillip Foss, who arrived in Maryland in 1763.
  1. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  2. Arthur, William , An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names. London: 1857. Print
  3. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  4. Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
  5. 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)
  6. 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.
  7. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)

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