Forfar Surname

560,645th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 566 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
England
Highest density in:
Scotland

Forfar Surname Definition:

Of local origin from the royal burgh of Forfar in Angus Richard de Forfar witnessed a charter by Richard de Friuill to the Abbey of Arnbroath c. 1178—1180 (RAA., I, 90). Ranulf de Forfar was one of the witnesses to a charter by Malcolm, earl of Angus c.

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Forfar Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England1461:381,63126,761
United States1431:2,534,678154,329
Canada1271:290,12326,993
Scotland631:84,9816,133
Australia331:818,05251,601
South Africa311:1,747,66884,236
Wales141:221,03813,576
Egypt41:22,983,93862,368
Philippines21:50,619,112341,003
Northern Ireland11:1,845,03620,648
Bahamas11:391,7512,737
Italy11:61,156,688199,583
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Scotland981:38,1962,960
England781:312,50520,777
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States61:8,369,781355,680

Forfar Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

Of local origin from the royal burgh of Forfar in Angus Richard de Forfar witnessed a charter by Richard de Friuill to the Abbey of Arnbroath c. 1178—1180 (RAA., I, 90). Ranulf de Forfar was one of the witnesses to a charter by Malcolm, earl of Angus c. 1220 (ibid., p. 331). Roger de Forfar is mentioned c. 1256—64 (LAC., 135), and in 1259 Adam of Forfare was groom of Adam de Liberatione (APS., I, p. 98). John de Forfar was burgess of St. Andrews in 1418 (CMN., 28), and Abraham Forfar was "persewit" for his ferine in 1614 (Urie, p. 13). Wylie Forfayr witnessed resignation of a feu in Peebles, 1471 (Scots Lore, p. 52). John Forfar is recorded in Dunfermline, 1586 (Dunfermline), and Patrick Farfar was admitted burgess of Aberdeen, 1607 (NSCM., I, p. 103). Forfer 1616.

The Surnames of Scotland (1946) by George Fraser Black (1866-1948)

(Celtic) belonging to Forfar, 12th cent. same spelling = prob. the Cold Wood­land or Rough-Pasture [v. under Fordyce, and + Gaelic fuar, cold]

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

Forfar Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name Forfar Come From? nationality or country of origin

The last name Forfar occurs most in England. It can be rendered in the variant forms:. For other potential spellings of this last name click here.

How Common Is The Last Name Forfar? popularity and diffusion

The surname is the 560,645th most numerous family name on earth, held by around 1 in 12,875,523 people. The last name occurs predominantly in The Americas, where 45 percent of Forfar reside; 44 percent reside in North America and 44 percent reside in Anglo-North America.

It is most frequent in England, where it is borne by 146 people, or 1 in 381,631. In England it is primarily found in: Hampshire, where 30 percent live, Greater London, where 21 percent live and Merseyside, where 14 percent live. Apart from England it is found in 11 countries. It is also common in The United States, where 25 percent live and Canada, where 22 percent live.

Forfar Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The occurrence of Forfar has changed over time. In England the number of people who held the Forfar surname increased 187 percent between 1881 and 2014; in The United States it increased 2,383 percent between 1880 and 2014 and in Scotland it decreased 36 percent between 1881 and 2014.

Forfar Last Name Statistics demography

In The United States those bearing the Forfar surname are 15.73% more likely to be registered Republicans than The US average, with 62.5% registered with the political party.

The amount Forfar earn in different countries varies somewhat. In South Africa they earn 32.97% more than the national average, earning R 315,984 per year; in United States they earn 31.38% more than the national average, earning $56,691 USD per year and in Canada they earn 22.32% more than the national average, earning $60,770 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Forfare925/
Forfair921/
Farfar83536/
Ferfar83296/
Forfor83119/
Furfar831/
Farfare7762/
Farfart7746/
Vorfahr775/
Farfard774/
Furfarp772/
Forford772/
Furfare771/
Forfour771/
Furfard771/
Furfair771/
Fourfour7110/
Farfarova6762/
Farforova5337/
Farfor50175/

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Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Forfar
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis