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![Show Contents]() La Forest History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
The surname La 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 La Forest familyThe surname La 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 La Forest familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our La 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 La Forest History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. La Forest Spelling VariationsSpelling 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 La Forest familyNotable 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
La Forest World RankingIn the United States, the name La Forest is the 16,109th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1 However, in Quebec, Canada, the name La Forest is ranked the 488th most popular surname. 2 And in France, the name La Forest is the 6,591st popular surname with an estimated 1,000 - 1,500 people with that name. 3
 La Forest migration to the United States | + |
Some of the first settlers of this family name were: La Forest Settlers in United States in the 18th Century- Antoine Gabriel LaForest, who landed in Louisiana in 1718-1724 4
- Antoine LaForest, who arrived in Louisiana in 1719 4
| La Forest migration to Canada | + |
Some of the first settlers of this family name were: La Forest Settlers in Canada in the 17th Century- Jean LaForest, who landed in Montreal in 1653
- Jabal LaForest, who landed in Montreal in 1653
- Jacques LaForest, who arrived in Montreal in 1658
- Pierre Laforest, son of Pierre and Marguerite, who married Charlotte Gaudin, daughter of Élie and Esther, in Sainte-Anne, Quebec on 27th July 1679 5
La Forest Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century- Jean Laforest, son of Pierre and Charlotte, who married Marie-Françoise Rancour, daugther of Joseph and Marie, in Quebec on 22nd October 1709 5
- Thomas Laforest, son of Pierre and Charlotte, who married Rosalie Duchesne, daughter of Pierre and Catherine, in Bertheir, Quebec on 8th August 1712 5
- Pierre Laforest, son of François and Jeanne, who married Marie-Françoise Davaut, daughter of Charles and Marguerite, in Quebec on 7th April 1720 5
- Joseph Laforest, son of Jean and Marie-Françoise, who married Marie-Barbe Bouchard, daughter of François and Marguerite, in Baie-Saint-Paul, Quebec on 5th June 1732 5
- Jean-Baptiste Laforest, son of Jean and Marie-Françoise, who married Marguerite Bonneau, daughter of Jacques and Louise, in Les Éboulements, Quebec on 24th January 1742 5
- ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
| Contemporary Notables of the name La Forest (post 1700) | + |
- George LaForest, American politician, Candidate for Michigan State House of Representatives from Wayne County 1st District, 1948 6
- Charles Laforest Goslin (1932-2007), American graphic designer and professor
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
- "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
- "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. 2, Institut Drouin, 1958.
- The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, February 1) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
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La Forest migration to the United States 
La Forest migration to Canada 
France
England
