Forster Surname
Approximately 73,956 people bear this surname
Forster Surname Definition:
a contracted form of Forrester, which see. Patrick Fostar and John Fostar witnessed an instrument of sasine in 1488 (REG., p. 503), and Alexander fforester who witnessed a sasine of 1711 signed his name 'Alexander Foster' (Hunter, p. 70).
Read More About This SurnameForster Surname Distribution Map
| Place | Incidence | Frequency | Rank in Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | 19,135 | 1:4,207 | 481 |
| England | 15,513 | 1:3,592 | 486 |
| United States | 13,146 | 1:27,572 | 3,450 |
| Australia | 7,278 | 1:3,709 | 532 |
| Switzerland | 3,928 | 1:2,091 | 209 |
| Canada | 3,280 | 1:11,233 | 1,679 |
| Austria | 2,806 | 1:3,035 | 295 |
| Brazil | 1,833 | 1:116,789 | 4,418 |
| France | 1,191 | 1:55,771 | 7,406 |
| New Zealand | 900 | 1:5,031 | 811 |
| South Africa | 833 | 1:65,039 | 8,172 |
| Scotland | 679 | 1:7,885 | 1,176 |
| Wales | 385 | 1:8,038 | 892 |
| Northern Ireland | 298 | 1:6,191 | 1,123 |
| Suriname | 256 | 1:2,159 | 289 |
| Argentina | 223 | 1:191,675 | 15,950 |
| Netherlands | 204 | 1:82,780 | 13,829 |
| Spain | 188 | 1:248,681 | 15,952 |
| Hungary | 180 | 1:54,535 | 5,767 |
| Ireland | 130 | 1:36,223 | 2,974 |
| Sweden | 104 | 1:94,680 | 6,886 |
| Belgium | 102 | 1:112,712 | 16,775 |
| Dominican Republic | 100 | 1:104,329 | 4,466 |
| Thailand | 95 | 1:743,562 | 121,778 |
| Chile | 79 | 1:222,993 | 6,896 |
| Czechia | 77 | 1:138,097 | 21,749 |
| Nigeria | 64 | 1:2,767,856 | 88,308 |
| Japan | 54 | 1:2,367,487 | 29,899 |
| Liberia | 51 | 1:86,442 | 7,100 |
| Singapore | 51 | 1:107,994 | 4,447 |
| Senegal | 44 | 1:331,349 | 1,750 |
| Zimbabwe | 44 | 1:350,869 | 33,247 |
| Denmark | 42 | 1:134,398 | 12,049 |
| Russia | 42 | 1:3,431,501 | 177,080 |
| Italy | 39 | 1:1,568,120 | 82,279 |
| Jersey | 34 | 1:2,918 | 527 |
| Norway | 34 | 1:151,244 | 18,822 |
| New Caledonia | 31 | 1:8,910 | 2,168 |
| United Arab Emirates | 30 | 1:305,409 | 20,323 |
| Kuwait | 29 | 1:131,058 | 14,967 |
| Isle of Man | 28 | 1:3,065 | 663 |
| Croatia | 24 | 1:176,192 | 22,291 |
| Malta | 24 | 1:17,928 | 1,021 |
| Qatar | 19 | 1:124,105 | 14,725 |
| Jamaica | 17 | 1:168,820 | 5,436 |
| Sierra Leone | 16 | 1:443,102 | 516 |
| Liechtenstein | 15 | 1:2,559 | 275 |
| Paraguay | 15 | 1:482,450 | 6,463 |
| Ghana | 14 | 1:1,930,049 | 11,535 |
| Malaysia | 14 | 1:2,106,730 | 83,604 |
| Cyprus | 13 | 1:68,067 | 7,075 |
| Mexico | 13 | 1:9,548,170 | 38,962 |
| Philippines | 13 | 1:7,787,556 | 197,164 |
| China | 12 | 1:113,943,464 | 5,994 |
| Venezuela | 12 | 1:2,517,006 | 28,211 |
| Ecuador | 11 | 1:1,445,986 | 17,636 |
| Hong Kong | 11 | 1:666,862 | 3,581 |
| Saudi Arabia | 9 | 1:3,428,424 | 32,607 |
| Estonia | 8 | 1:165,226 | 26,217 |
| Falkland Islands | 8 | 1:392 | 68 |
| Turks and Caicos Islands | 8 | 1:4,291 | 379 |
| Lebanon | 7 | 1:805,298 | 15,541 |
| India | 6 | 1:127,844,230 | 863,365 |
| Kazakhstan | 4 | 1:4,420,624 | 134,293 |
| Poland | 4 | 1:9,502,187 | 181,606 |
| Turkey | 4 | 1:19,455,356 | 155,681 |
| Ukraine | 4 | 1:11,380,674 | 331,818 |
| Belarus | 3 | 1:3,167,020 | 121,664 |
| Cayman Islands | 3 | 1:21,298 | 1,488 |
| Gambia | 3 | 1:641,150 | 991 |
| Greece | 3 | 1:3,693,263 | 126,191 |
| Saint Lucia | 3 | 1:59,594 | 2,472 |
| Slovakia | 3 | 1:1,778,817 | 104,392 |
| Slovenia | 3 | 1:829,225 | 25,091 |
| South Korea | 3 | 1:17,080,085 | 2,793 |
| Taiwan | 3 | 1:7,814,915 | 41,694 |
| Transnistria | 3 | 1:158,233 | 13,093 |
| Vietnam | 3 | 1:30,882,018 | 4,101 |
| Bahamas | 2 | 1:195,876 | 1,708 |
| Cameroon | 2 | 1:10,384,534 | 165,830 |
| Colombia | 2 | 1:23,887,036 | 32,612 |
| Egypt | 2 | 1:45,967,877 | 132,655 |
| Indonesia | 2 | 1:66,124,597 | 756,638 |
| Ivory Coast | 2 | 1:11,535,616 | 61,806 |
| Kenya | 2 | 1:23,089,950 | 83,168 |
| Luxembourg | 2 | 1:290,271 | 8,611 |
| Malawi | 2 | 1:8,559,554 | 34,093 |
| Serbia | 2 | 1:3,572,474 | 32,645 |
| Zambia | 2 | 1:7,924,961 | 45,994 |
| Albania | 1 | 1:2,914,055 | 29,474 |
| Algeria | 1 | 1:38,631,551 | 130,422 |
| American Samoa | 1 | 1:55,758 | 3,072 |
| Antigua and Barbuda | 1 | 1:99,171 | 2,137 |
| Bermuda | 1 | 1:65,279 | 3,010 |
| Bolivia | 1 | 1:10,616,434 | 17,077 |
| Botswana | 1 | 1:2,186,929 | 30,250 |
| Bulgaria | 1 | 1:6,978,905 | 86,260 |
| Cambodia | 1 | 1:15,487,146 | 14,824 |
| Cook Islands | 1 | 1:18,179 | 1,485 |
| Cuba | 1 | 1:11,522,716 | 17,380 |
| DR Congo | 1 | 1:73,879,570 | 260,543 |
| Ethiopia | 1 | 1:97,546,262 | 29,669 |
| Finland | 1 | 1:5,496,702 | 84,025 |
| French Polynesia | 1 | 1:280,805 | 7,211 |
| Gabon | 1 | 1:1,889,194 | 6,814 |
| Gibraltar | 1 | 1:33,954 | 1,660 |
| Guatemala | 1 | 1:16,082,668 | 12,169 |
| Iran | 1 | 1:76,782,524 | 277,718 |
| Iraq | 1 | 1:35,021,654 | 31,813 |
| Israel | 1 | 1:8,557,634 | 182,558 |
| Latvia | 1 | 1:2,050,046 | 60,295 |
| Maldives | 1 | 1:404,172 | 7,269 |
| Moldova | 1 | 1:3,561,368 | 78,271 |
| Monaco | 1 | 1:37,066 | 4,748 |
| Mongolia | 1 | 1:2,825,289 | 17,010 |
| Montenegro | 1 | 1:639,565 | 9,092 |
| Namibia | 1 | 1:2,409,401 | 19,676 |
| Panama | 1 | 1:3,912,258 | 17,195 |
| Peru | 1 | 1:31,784,123 | 64,452 |
| Portugal | 1 | 1:10,418,241 | 25,048 |
| Romania | 1 | 1:20,077,870 | 89,414 |
| Saint Martin | 1 | 1:35,156 | 229 |
| Tanzania | 1 | 1:52,941,613 | 123,716 |
| Uganda | 1 | 1:39,039,279 | 258,887 |
| Uruguay | 1 | 1:3,431,758 | 38,295 |
| Place | Incidence | Frequency | Rank in Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ireland | 259 | 1:17,104 | 2,096 |
| Place | Incidence | Frequency | Rank in Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | 9,638 | 1:2,529 | 365 |
| Scotland | 140 | 1:26,737 | 2,399 |
| Wales | 66 | 1:23,764 | 1,369 |
| Isle of Man | 24 | 1:2,261 | 280 |
| Guernsey | 7 | 1:4,665 | 827 |
| Jersey | 2 | 1:25,941 | 3,069 |
| Place | Incidence | Frequency | Rank in Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 1,646 | 1:30,510 | 3,682 |
The alternate forms: Förster (50,531) & Fòrster (1) are calculated separately.
Forster (4,940) may also be a first name.
Forster Surname Meaning
From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history
a contracted form of Forrester, which see. Patrick Fostar and John Fostar witnessed an instrument of sasine in 1488 (REG., p. 503), and Alexander fforester who witnessed a sasine of 1711 signed his name 'Alexander Foster' (Hunter, p. 70). Fawster 1570.
For Forester, q.v.
William le Forster.—Hundred Rolls An horn he bar, the bawdryk was of grene.
A forster was he, soothly as I gesse.—Chaucer, Cant. Tales, A 116-7.
(English) A forest warden, or gamekeeper, a manor official.
A curt pronunciation of Forester. There are many families of this name of separate origins. The Durham family were characterized as The Friendly Forsters.
Sometimes a contraction of Forester: but there is an origin at least equally probable, viz: fosterer, one who feeds and has the charge of children instead of their parents. "When a gesitlicundman left his land, he was at liberty to take away his Reeve, his Smith, and his child's Fosterer. Laws of Ina, King of Wessex. Thorpe, i. 145. Archteologia, xxxiii. 277.
Probably a corruption of Forrester or Forster.
See Forrester. Of this name are the Baronets Forster.
And Foster (E. and S.), Forester; also Fosterer, i. e., Foster-father or brother.
Forster,Foster. —This surname, in its two forms, is widely distributed over England, being however absent or rare in the three eastern counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, and Essex, and in the south - west of England. Forster is essentially the north country form, being especially numerous in Northumberland. Foster is the form characteristic of the rest of England, being particularly frequent in Notts. The north of England, however, is the principal home of the name, the two varieties occurring in Northumberland in the proportion of 107 per 10,000 of the population. Curiously enough, it has found no permanent home in Scotland.
Forster Demographics
Average Forster Salary in
United States
$47,381 USD
Per year
Average Salary in
United States
$43,149 USD
Per year
View the highest/lowest earning families in The United States
Forster Last Name Facts
Where Does The Last Name Forster Come From? nationality or country of origin
The surname Forster (Arabic: فورستر, Russian: Форстер) has its highest incidence in Germany. It may occur in the variant forms: Förster or Fòrster. Click here to see other potential spellings of this surname.
How Common Is The Last Name Forster? popularity and diffusion
This surname is the 7,668th most frequently used surname at a global level It is held by around 1 in 98,539 people. The surname occurs predominantly in Europe, where 61 percent of Forster are found; 37 percent are found in Western Europe and 35 percent are found in Germanic Europe. Forster is also the 96,947th most widely held first name internationally, borne by 4,940 people.
The surname is most frequent in Germany, where it is held by 19,135 people, or 1 in 4,207. In Germany it is mostly concentrated in: Bavaria, where 63 percent live, Baden-Württemberg, where 9 percent live and Rhineland-Palatinate, where 7 percent live. Aside from Germany this surname occurs in 124 countries. It is also found in England, where 21 percent live and The United States, where 18 percent live.
Forster Family Population Trend historical fluctuation
The frequency of Forster has changed over time. In England the number of people bearing the Forster surname rose 161 percent between 1881 and 2014; in The United States it rose 799 percent between 1880 and 2014; in Scotland it rose 485 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Wales it rose 583 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in Ireland it decreased 50 percent between 1901 and 2014.
Forster Last Name Statistics demography
The religious devotion of those holding the surname is predominantly Anglican (70%) in Ireland and Orthodox (80%) in Russia.
In The United States those bearing the Forster last name are 7.74% more likely to be registered Republicans than the national average, with 54.51% being registered to vote for the party.
The amount Forster earn in different countries varies markedly. In Norway they earn 0.16% more than the national average, earning 346,628 kr per year; in South Africa they earn 40.14% more than the national average, earning R 333,024 per year; in United States they earn 9.81% more than the national average, earning $47,381 USD per year and in Canada they earn 6.2% more than the national average, earning $52,764 CAD per year.
Phonetically Similar Names
| Surname | Similarity | Worldwide Incidence | Prevalency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Förster | 95 | 50,531 | / |
| Fòrster | 95 | 1 | / |
| Foerster | 93 | 9,746 | / |
| Foirster | 93 | 9 | / |
| Forrster | 93 | 8 | / |
| Forshter | 93 | 3 | / |
| Forstier | 93 | 2 | / |
| Fourster | 93 | 1 | / |
| Forsteir | 93 | 1 | / |
| Forsther | 93 | 1 | / |
| Forszter | 93 | 1 | / |
| Forstter | 93 | 1 | / |
| Fosrster | 93 | 1 | / |
| Foorster | 93 | 0 | / |
| Forste | 92 | 377 | / |
| Forshteer | 88 | 3 | / |
| Forschter | 88 | 0 | / |
| Vorster | 86 | 28,273 | / |
| Ferster | 86 | 1,655 | / |
| Farster | 86 | 244 | / |
| Forstie | 86 | 123 | / |
| Furster | 86 | 120 | / |
| Fürster | 86 | 43 | / |
| Forstey | 86 | 16 | / |
| Forsted | 86 | 15 | / |
| Forsthe | 86 | 14 | / |
| Férster | 86 | 1 | / |
| Forstes | 86 | 1 | / |
| Forstet | 86 | 1 | / |
| Forzter | 86 | 1 | / |
| Forstir | 86 | 0 | / |
| Forsterová | 82 | 100 | / |
| Ferszter | 80 | 135 | / |
| Voerster | 80 | 78 | / |
| Forstedt | 80 | 54 | / |
| Fershter | 80 | 38 | / |
| Vorshter | 80 | 3 | / |
| Forstyhe | 80 | 2 | / |
| Vorsteer | 80 | 1 | / |
| Förscter | 80 | 1 | / |
| Forstead | 80 | 1 | / |
| Feerster | 80 | 1 | / |
| Ferstier | 80 | 1 | / |
| Forsta | 77 | 51 | / |
| Forsti | 77 | 39 | / |
| Fořter | 77 | 32 | / |
| Forsty | 77 | 31 | / |
| Vorste | 77 | 8 | / |
| Farste | 77 | 7 | / |
| Forsstedt | 75 | 101 | / |
| Ferschter | 75 | 15 | / |
| Verster | 71 | 6,107 | / |
| Försterová | 71 | 87 | / |
| Forstyh | 71 | 17 | / |
| Vörster | 71 | 10 | / |
| Vurster | 71 | 9 | / |
| Farstey | 71 | 6 | / |
| Fursterová | 71 | 5 | / |
| Fursterova | 71 | 1 | / |
| Vorsthe | 71 | 1 | / |
| Forsthy | 71 | 1 | / |
| Farshtei | 67 | 67 | / |
| Farshtey | 67 | 46 | / |
| Farshteh | 67 | 44 | / |
| Farstead | 67 | 35 | / |
| Forshtay | 67 | 33 | / |
| Farsztej | 67 | 2 | / |
| Farstedt | 67 | 1 | / |
| Forstyth | 67 | 1 | / |
| Versteer | 67 | 1 | / |
Forster Name Transliterations
| Transliteration | ICU Latin | Percentage of Incidence |
|---|---|---|
| Forster in the Russian language | ||
| Форстер | forster | - |
| Forster in the Arabic language | ||
| فورستر | fwrstr | - |
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Forster Reference & Research
Foster FamilyTree DNA Project - A description of a group researching the paternal lines of men who bear the surname with the help of DNA analysis.
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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 Forster
- To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on FamilySearch, MyHeritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis