Forty Surname

225,303rd
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 1,804 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
Malawi
Highest density in:
Malawi

Forty Surname Definition:

(English) Dweller at the Island or Riverside-Pasture of the Forth or Ford [Middle English forth, ford, Old English ford, a ford + Middle English ey(e, Old English i(e)g, island, &c.] Roger de la Fortheye.—Hundred Rolls

Forty Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Malawi8631:19,8373,086
Ecuador2551:62,3765,155
England2501:222,87218,741
United States1971:1,839,893120,150
Canada431:856,87466,382
South Africa251:2,167,10894,352
Luxembourg231:25,2414,722
Venezuela181:1,678,00421,578
Australia171:1,587,98278,599
Puerto Rico141:253,5812,469
Ukraine121:3,793,558197,857
Zimbabwe91:1,715,36084,476
France81:8,302,840321,660
Brazil71:30,582,047441,004
New Zealand71:646,90340,014
Wales71:442,07621,198
Thailand61:11,773,058553,295
Scotland51:1,070,76331,189
Singapore41:1,376,92628,409
Israel41:2,139,40895,907
Nigeria31:59,047,586507,603
Cameroon21:10,384,534165,830
Spain21:23,376,018128,922
Iran21:38,391,262236,033
China21:683,660,78330,601
Italy21:30,578,344160,757
Uganda11:39,039,279258,887
Argentina11:42,743,414282,706
Dominican Republic11:10,432,93236,508
Sri Lanka11:20,808,56018,521
Barbados11:287,4482,772
Chile11:17,616,47493,597
Poland11:38,008,749231,653
Philippines11:101,238,223404,861
Peru11:31,784,12364,452
Panama11:3,912,25817,195
Netherlands11:16,887,176156,465
Mexico11:124,126,205103,776
Croatia11:4,228,60499,289
Lebanon11:5,637,08332,436
Kenya11:46,179,900103,372
India11:767,065,3821,851,717
Greece11:11,079,790145,225
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England2821:86,4379,090
Wales61:261,4039,165
Guernsey31:10,8851,562
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States481:1,046,22361,047

Forty (257) may also be a first name.

Forty Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

(English) Dweller at the Island or Riverside-Pasture of the Forth or Ford [Middle English forth, ford, Old English ford, a ford + Middle English ey(e, Old English i(e)g, island, &c.] Roger de la Fortheye.—Hundred Rolls

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

Ó Foirtcheirn Almost peculiar to Co. Wexford. Occasionally a synonym of Farshing in Co. Cork, q.v. MIF 110; Map Carl-Wex

A Guide to Irish Names (1964) by Edward MacLysaght

Forty is used by the Soot, poet Douglas, in the sense of brave. French fort. Hence these names probably refer to the courage of their original owners.

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

From Fuerty, a parish of Ireland, Connaught; or from forty, used by the Scottish poet Douglas in the sense of brave. Hence perhaps the name Fortyman.

Ludus Patronymicus (1868) by Richard Stephen Charnock

From the French, Fortie; a personal name.

British Family Names: Their Origin and Meaning (1903) by Henry Barber

Forty Last Name Facts

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

The last name Forty has its highest incidence in Malawi. It may occur in the variant forms:. Click here for further possible spellings of Forty.

How Common Is The Last Name Forty? popularity and diffusion

This last name is the 225,303rd most widespread surname on earth, held by approximately 1 in 4,039,660 people. The last name Forty is primarily found in Africa, where 50 percent of Forty are found; 50 percent are found in Southern Africa and 50 percent are found in South Bantu Africa. Forty is also the 555,528th most frequently occurring first name in the world It is held by 257 people.

It is most prevalent in Malawi, where it is carried by 863 people, or 1 in 19,837. Besides Malawi Forty occurs in 42 countries. It is also common in Ecuador, where 14 percent are found and England, where 14 percent are found.

Forty Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The prevalency of Forty has changed through the years. In England the number of people bearing the Forty surname decreased 11 percent between 1881 and 2014; in The United States it rose 410 percent between 1880 and 2014 and in Wales it rose 117 percent between 1881 and 2014.

Forty Last Name Statistics demography

The amount Forty earn in different countries varies greatly. In South Africa they earn 67.88% less than the national average, earning R 76,320 per year; in United States they earn 26.54% more than the national average, earning $54,600 USD per year and in Canada they earn 4.85% more than the national average, earning $52,092 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Fortey911,222/
Fourty91271/
Fortty91156/
Forthy9116/
Fortay9112/
Fortuy911/
Fortyś911/
Fortyi911/
Fourtoy8339/
Forthey837/
Fortysh831/
Forte8066,859/
Forti8014,584/
Forté80142/
Forta80117/
Farty8015/
Furty802/
Fortè802/
Fortí801/
Fortes7387,421/
Fortis734,011/
Fortea732,658/
Fortiz731,300/
Fortez731,104/
Fortit73595/
Pforte73514/
Forteh73461/
Forter73386/
Fortti73295/
Fortte73246/
Fortet73200/
Fortie73195/
Fourte73191/
Fourti73189/
Fortio73124/
Forthe73108/
Furtay7331/
Fortee7325/
Fourta7316/
Furtyi7311/
Fortje739/
Furtyo737/
Furthy737/
Fortep735/
Foorte734/
Furtys733/
Foerte733/
Fortès733/
Fortoi732/
Fartay732/
Fortui732/
Forted732/
Fartey731/
Forrti731/
Foirte731/
Vorthy731/
Forteu731/
Fortís731/
Forthi731/
Foorta731/
Fortei731/
Fortiș731/
Fortoa731/
Fortta731/
Furtey731/
Farthy730/
Fourthays710/
Fortich673,738/
Fourtet67368/
Fortuit67156/
Feurtey67122/
Pfordte67105/
Forttes6781/
Fuortes6763/
Fortais6758/
Pforter6758/
Forteis6739/
Pfortje6725/
Fortess6724/
Fortieh6724/
Fourtis6719/
Fortish6718/
Farthey6715/
Fourter6712/
Fosrter6712/
Forteas6710/
Fortest677/
Forther676/
Forthis675/
Fortois674/
Forthee673/
Fortuis672/
Phoorty671/
Fhorter671/
Faharty671/
Forhtes671/
Forteaz671/
Fortith671/
Fourthe671/
Pfortie671/
Fusrtey671/
Farthty671/
Fortets671/
Forteuh671/
Fourtit671/
D'Forte671/
Forrtes671/
Fortter670/
Fortiea670/
Forteer670/
Fortees670/

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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 Forty
  • 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