# Forbes (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/forbes/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname from Scottish Gaelic.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | Scottish Gaelic |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 33,813 |
| US rank (2010) | 1,028 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 9,131 people |
| Change since 2000 | +4.9% (32,228 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /fɔɹbz/, 1 syllable |
| Variant spellings | Fawbush, Fobbs, Forbus, Forbush, Furbush |

## Who carries it

Share of people named Forbes in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 70% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 23% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 3.6% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.8% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.5% |
| Two or more races | 2.2% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Forbes in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.

## People named Forbes

- Michelle Forbes, American actress
- Malcolm Forbes, American publisher (1919–1990)
- Steve Forbes, American businessman and publisher
- Bertie Charles Forbes, American financial journalist, founder of Forbes Magazine (1880–1954)
- Mary Forbes, British-American actress (1883–1974)
- James Forbes, American basketball player (1952–2022)
- Bryn Forbes, American basketball player (born 1993)
- China Forbes, American singer, songwriter
- Randy Forbes, American politician
- David Forbes, Australian sailor (1934–2022)
- Stanhope Forbes, British artist (1857-1947)
- William Cameron Forbes, American diplomat (1870-1959)

and 8 more on Wikidata.

## Similar surnames

Forbis, Forbus, Forbush, Fairfax, Farabaugh.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.