Where does the surname Forbes come from?

Forbes is Scottish Gaelic in origin.

How common is the surname Forbes?

33,813 people in the United States had the surname Forbes in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 9,131 Americans. It ranked 1,028th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Forbes?

Michelle Forbes, American actress, followed by Malcolm Forbes.

Where is the surname Forbes most common?

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

How do you pronounce Forbes?

Forbes is /fɔɹbz/, one syllable.

Is the surname Forbes getting more or less common?

More common. 32,228 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 33,813 in 2010, up 4.9%.

What are other spellings of Forbes?

Fawbush, Fobbs, Forbus, Forbush and Furbush.

Is Forbes also a first name?

Yes. Forbes 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 Forbes

A Scottish Gaelic surname, carried by 33,813 people in the United States.

Pronounced /fɔɹbz/ 1 syllable Soundex F612 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). Forbes is more common than 99.4% of them.

Origin

Scottish Gaelic origin

A surname from Scottish Gaelic.

One of 277 Scottish Gaelic surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 33,813 people named Forbes in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 9,131 Americans. That is up 4.9% since 2000, when the Census counted 32,228.

#1,028

rank among US surnames

33,813

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+4.9%

change since 2000 (was #986)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#1,019	Irwin	34,297	9,002
#1,020	Hooper	34,247	9,015
#1,021	Hays	34,191	9,030
#1,022	Joyce	34,132	9,046
#1,023	McKnight	34,055	9,066
#1,024	Gamble	34,005	9,079
#1,025	Downs	33,922	9,102

Who is named Forbes

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

70% of people named Forbes identified as white (not Hispanic), 23% as Black (not Hispanic) and 3.6% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

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

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Forbess

20 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Michelle Forbes
American actress, born 1965
Malcolm Forbes
American publisher (1919–1990)
Steve Forbes
American businessman and publisher, born 1947
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, born 1970
Randy Forbes
American politician, born 1952
David Forbes
Australian sailor (1934–2022)
Stanhope Forbes
British artist (1857-1947)
William Cameron Forbes
American diplomat (1870-1959)

Notable Forbess come mostly from the United States (15), the United Kingdom (3) and Australia (2).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Variant spellings

Fawbush
Fobbs
Forbus
Forbush
Furbush

Surnames that sound like Forbes

Forbes has the Soundex code F612, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code F612.

Other Scottish Gaelic surnames

All 277 Scottish Gaelic surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Forbes come from?: Forbes is Scottish Gaelic in origin.
How common is the surname Forbes?: 33,813 people in the United States had the surname Forbes in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 9,131 Americans. It ranked 1,028th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Forbes?: In the 2010 Census, 70% of people named Forbes identified as white (not Hispanic), and 23% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Forbes?: Michelle Forbes, American actress, followed by Malcolm Forbes.
Where is the surname Forbes most common?: Wikidata records people named Forbes in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.
How do you pronounce Forbes?: Forbes is /fɔɹbz/, one syllable.
Is the surname Forbes getting more or less common?: More common. 32,228 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 33,813 in 2010, up 4.9%.
What are other spellings of Forbes?: Fawbush, Fobbs, Forbus, Forbush and Furbush.
Is Forbes also a first name?: Yes. Forbes 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.