How common is the surname DeForest?

2,707 people in the United States had the surname DeForest in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 114,055 Americans. It ranked 11,597th of 162,253 surnames.

What ethnicity is the surname DeForest?

In the 2010 Census, 93% of people named DeForest identified as white (not Hispanic), and 3.0% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

Who is the most famous person named DeForest?

Lee de Forest, American inventor (1873–1961), followed by Calvert DeForest.

Where is the surname DeForest most common?

Wikidata records people named DeForest in the United States.

Is the surname DeForest getting more or less common?

More common. 2,664 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 2,707 in 2010, up 1.6%.

Is DeForest also a first name?

Yes. DeForest is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname DeForest

A French surname, carried by 2,707 people in the United States.

3 syllables Soundex D162 Also a first name

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). DeForest is more common than 92.9% of them.

Origin

French origin

Rare French surname, from de (“from”) + forest. Compare Deforrest, Defrees, Defreest.

One of 791 French surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 2,707 people named DeForest in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 114,055 Americans. That is up 1.6% since 2000, when the Census counted 2,664.

#11,597

rank among US surnames

2,707

people in 2010

0.9

per 100,000 Americans

+1.6%

change since 2000 (was #10,956)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#11,589	Tomko	2,710	113,928
#11,592	Knipp	2,709	113,970
#11,595	Bump	2,708	114,012
#11,597	Ranney	2,707	114,055
#11,603	Drane	2,706	114,097
#11,605	Taub	2,705	114,139

Who is named DeForest

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

93% of people named DeForest identified as white (not Hispanic), 3.0% as Hispanic or Latino (any race) and 1.8% as two or more races.

White (not Hispanic) 93%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 3.0%
Two or more races 1.8%
Black (not Hispanic) 1.1%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.7%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.6%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous DeForests

3 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Lee de Forest
American inventor (1873–1961)
Calvert DeForest
American comedian, 1921–2007
Charles DeForest Fredricks
American photographer (1823-1894)

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Variant spellings

Forest
Deforet
Foret

Surnames that sound like DeForest

DeForest has the Soundex code D162, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code D162.

Other French surnames

All 791 French surnames

Questions

Where does the surname DeForest come from?: Rare French surname, from de (“from”) + forest. Compare Deforrest, Defrees, Defreest.
How common is the surname DeForest?: 2,707 people in the United States had the surname DeForest in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 114,055 Americans. It ranked 11,597th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname DeForest?: In the 2010 Census, 93% of people named DeForest identified as white (not Hispanic), and 3.0% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).
Who is the most famous person named DeForest?: Lee de Forest, American inventor (1873–1961), followed by Calvert DeForest.
Where is the surname DeForest most common?: Wikidata records people named DeForest in the United States.
Is the surname DeForest getting more or less common?: More common. 2,664 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 2,707 in 2010, up 1.6%.
What are other spellings of DeForest?: Forest, Deforet and Foret.
Is DeForest also a first name?: Yes. DeForest is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.