Fortescue Surname
Approximately 1,150 people bear this surname
Fortescue Surname Definition:
(Anglo-French-Latin) Strong Shield [Anglo-FrenchO.French (mod. Fr, écu, shield); Latin fort-is, strong + scut-um, shield] This name was Latinized in mediæval records de Ford Scuto.
Fortescue Surname Distribution Map
| Place | Incidence | Frequency | Rank in Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | 525 | 1:106,130 | 11,099 |
| United States | 256 | 1:1,415,855 | 97,523 |
| Australia | 244 | 1:110,638 | 12,326 |
| New Zealand | 32 | 1:141,510 | 16,640 |
| Canada | 21 | 1:1,754,552 | 114,935 |
| South Africa | 13 | 1:4,167,516 | 132,322 |
| Zimbabwe | 11 | 1:1,403,476 | 76,064 |
| Wales | 9 | 1:343,837 | 18,086 |
| Thailand | 5 | 1:14,127,669 | 603,945 |
| Norway | 5 | 1:1,028,457 | 61,363 |
| Malaysia | 4 | 1:7,373,556 | 230,001 |
| Scotland | 4 | 1:1,338,454 | 35,497 |
| France | 3 | 1:22,140,907 | 385,998 |
| Hong Kong | 3 | 1:2,445,161 | 9,595 |
| Belgium | 2 | 1:5,748,322 | 130,559 |
| Russia | 2 | 1:72,061,528 | 727,117 |
| Italy | 2 | 1:30,578,344 | 160,757 |
| Antigua and Barbuda | 1 | 1:99,171 | 2,137 |
| Colombia | 1 | 1:47,774,072 | 44,230 |
| Switzerland | 1 | 1:8,212,915 | 156,297 |
| Sweden | 1 | 1:9,846,757 | 347,448 |
| Netherlands | 1 | 1:16,887,176 | 156,465 |
| Kazakhstan | 1 | 1:17,682,496 | 204,010 |
| Iceland | 1 | 1:380,090 | 11,096 |
| China | 1 | 1:1,367,321,566 | 51,149 |
| Denmark | 1 | 1:5,644,715 | 93,155 |
| Place | Incidence | Frequency | Rank in Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ireland | 14 | 1:316,419 | 12,423 |
| Place | Incidence | Frequency | Rank in Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | 363 | 1:67,150 | 7,643 |
| Scotland | 13 | 1:287,940 | 9,345 |
| Jersey | 6 | 1:8,647 | 1,503 |
| Place | Incidence | Frequency | Rank in Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 51 | 1:984,680 | 58,342 |
Fortescue Surname Meaning
From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history
(Anglo-French-Latin) Strong Shield [Anglo-FrenchO.French (mod. Fr, écu, shield); Latin fort-is, strong + scut-um, shield] This name was Latinized in mediæval records de Ford Scuto.
Doubtless from Old French forte escu, "strong shield," referring probably to such a weapon carried by the primary bearer of the name. This, together with the punning motto of the family, "Forte Scutum salus ducum," ' a strong shield is the safety of commanders,' doubtless led to the fabrication of the legend that the founder of the family, one Sir Richard le Fort, at the battle of Hastings was the safety of his commander, by bearing a strong shield in front of him. If we may trust genealogists of the old school, the field of Hastings witnessed many wonderful scenes and exploits; but as the Norman Duke was quite able to carry his own shield we may dismiss this story to the regions of romance. The Norman origin of the family is, however, pretty certain, and their residence at Winston in Devonshire, temp. King John, seems fully proved. Shirley's Noble and Gentle Men. If the name originated in any military incident, it is more likely to have taken place in the Holy Land, where two members of the family are said to have fought under Coeur de Lion.
Strong shield. Sir Richard Le Forte (the brave), one of the leaders in the army of William the Conqueror, who had the good fortune to protect his chief at the battle of Hastings, by bearing before him a massive shield, hence acquired the addition of the French word escue, a shield, to his name.
A Norman family, from near Valognes, which continued till the 15th century (La Roque, Mais. Harc., i. 1023, 1247, 1443; ii. Preuves, 766). Rainald was Lord of Winestane, Devon, 1086 (Domesd.). John Fortescue, his descendant, had a confirmation of W. in 1208 (Pole, 310). Robert F., his son, held a knight’s fee in capite, as of the honour of Mortaine (Testa de Neville). From this family descend the Earls Fortescue, and other noble houses.
The name of Fortescue, which is also found in the adjacent county of Hunts, had its origin with the distinguished Devonshire family of the name that resided at Winston in that county as far back as the reign of John (L.). The Northamptonshire Fortescues owned part of the living of Pateshull in the time of Elizabeth, and last century they owned the living of Rothwell (Wh.).
Fortescue Demographics
Average Fortescue Salary in
United States
$46,542 USD
Per year
Average Salary in
United States
$43,149 USD
Per year
View the highest/lowest earning families in The United States
Fortescue Last Name Facts
Where Does The Last Name Fortescue Come From? nationality or country of origin
Fortescue is found in England more than any other country or territory. It can also occur as:. Click here to see other possible spellings of Fortescue.
How Common Is The Last Name Fortescue? popularity and diffusion
The last name is the 324,001st most widely held last name at a global level It is held by around 1 in 6,336,996 people. The last name Fortescue occurs mostly in Europe, where 48 percent of Fortescue are found; 47 percent are found in Northern Europe and 47 percent are found in British Isles.
Fortescue is most frequently used in England, where it is carried by 525 people, or 1 in 106,130. In England it is most numerous in: Greater London, where 20 percent reside, Surrey, where 7 percent reside and Nottinghamshire, where 7 percent reside. Excluding England it is found in 25 countries. It is also common in The United States, where 22 percent reside and Australia, where 21 percent reside.
Fortescue Family Population Trend historical fluctuation
The prevalency of Fortescue has changed over time. In England the number of people carrying the Fortescue surname rose 145 percent between 1881 and 2014; in The United States it rose 502 percent between 1880 and 2014 and in Scotland it decreased 69 percent between 1881 and 2014.
Fortescue Last Name Statistics demography
The religious adherence of those carrying the last name is primarily Catholic (71%) in Ireland.
In The United States Fortescue are 3.95% more likely to be registered Republicans than The US average, with 50.72% being registered with the party.
The amount Fortescue earn in different countries varies greatly. In Norway they earn 43.25% less than the national average, earning 196,393 kr per year; in South Africa they earn 250.92% more than the national average, earning R 833,928 per year; in United States they earn 7.86% more than the national average, earning $46,542 USD per year and in Canada they earn 1.33% less than the national average, earning $49,024 CAD per year.
Phonetically Similar Names
| Surname | Similarity | Worldwide Incidence | Prevalency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forttescue | 95 | 0 | / |
| Fortscue | 94 | 2 | / |
| Fortescu | 94 | 1 | / |
| Fortiscue | 89 | 50 | / |
| Fortesque | 89 | 43 | / |
| Fortescne | 89 | 0 | / |
| Forrtscue | 89 | 0 | / |
| Fortiscuie | 84 | 2 | / |
| Fratescu | 82 | 246 | / |
| Firtescu | 82 | 80 | / |
| Fartescu | 82 | 3 | / |
| Frătescu | 82 | 2 | / |
| Fretescu | 82 | 2 | / |
| Fortescki | 78 | 20 | / |
| Fortisque | 78 | 0 | / |
| Fortesk | 75 | 2 | / |
| Fortique | 71 | 198 | / |
| Forteski | 71 | 171 | / |
| Fârțescu | 71 | 31 | / |
| Fratesku | 71 | 19 | / |
| Fretesku | 71 | 16 | / |
| Fartesek | 71 | 3 | / |
| Firtascu | 71 | 1 | / |
| Fîrțescu | 71 | 1 | / |
| Fortigue | 71 | 1 | / |
| Fritscke | 71 | 0 | / |
| Furduescu | 67 | 4 | / |
| Fritsc | 67 | 2 | / |
| Fortiquez | 67 | 1 | / |
| Fortosyuk | 67 | 1 | / |
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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 Fortescue
- 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