How common is the surname Foreman?

28,605 people in the United States had the surname Foreman in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 10,793 Americans. It ranked 1,234th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Foreman?

George Foreman, American professional boxer (1949–2025), followed by Michael Foreman.

Where is the surname Foreman most common?

Wikidata records people named Foreman in the United States and the United Kingdom.

Is the surname Foreman getting more or less common?

More common. 27,130 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 28,605 in 2010, up 5.4%.

The surname Foreman

An occupational surname, carried by 28,605 people in the United States.

2 syllables Soundex F655

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Foreman is more common than 99.2% of them.

Origin

A surname originating as an occupation for someone who was the manager of a farm.

Foreman is an occupational surname: named after the work an ancestor did.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 28,605 people named Foreman in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 10,793 Americans. That is up 5.4% since 2000, when the Census counted 27,130.

#1,234

rank among US surnames

28,605

people in 2010

9.7

per 100,000 Americans

+5.4%

change since 2000 (was #1,186)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#1,225	Downing	28,880	10,691
#1,226	Sharpe	28,879	10,691
#1,227	Guy	28,852	10,701
#1,229	Rankin	28,821	10,713
#1,230	Godfrey	28,734	10,745
#1,231	Chamberlain	28,727	10,748
#1,232	Fink	28,701	10,757

Who is named Foreman

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

66% of people named Foreman identified as white (not Hispanic), 27% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.5% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 66%
Black (not Hispanic) 27%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.5%
Two or more races 2.5%
American Indian and Alaska Native 1.6%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.5%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Foremans

9 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

George Foreman
American professional boxer (1949–2025)
Michael Foreman
American astronaut, born 1957
Carl Foreman
American screenwriter and film producer (1914-1984)
Deborah Foreman
American actress, born 1962
Amanda Foreman
American actress, born 1966
Jon Foreman
American musician and songwriter, born 1976
Jay Foreman
British comedian and YouTuber, born 1984
Richard Foreman
American playwright (1937–2025)
Afroman
American rapper, singer, songwriter, comedian and multi-instrumentalist (born 1974)

Notable Foremans come mostly from the United States (8) and the United Kingdom (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Variant spellings

Forman
Fourman

Surnames that sound like Foreman

Foreman has the Soundex code F655, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code F655.

Questions

How common is the surname Foreman?: 28,605 people in the United States had the surname Foreman in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 10,793 Americans. It ranked 1,234th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Foreman?: In the 2010 Census, 66% of people named Foreman identified as white (not Hispanic), and 27% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Foreman?: George Foreman, American professional boxer (1949–2025), followed by Michael Foreman.
Where is the surname Foreman most common?: Wikidata records people named Foreman in the United States and the United Kingdom.
What type of surname is Foreman?: Foreman is an occupational surname, named after the work an ancestor did.
Is the surname Foreman getting more or less common?: More common. 27,130 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 28,605 in 2010, up 5.4%.
What are other spellings of Foreman?: Forman and Fourman.