How common is the surname Forest?

5,076 people in the United States had the surname Forest in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 60,825 Americans. It ranked 6,661st of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Forest?

Michael Forest, actor, followed by Mark Forest.

Where is the surname Forest most common?

Wikidata records people named Forest in the United States.

Is the surname Forest getting more or less common?

More common. 5,006 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 5,076 in 2010, up 1.4%.

Is Forest also a first name?

Yes. Forest 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 Forest

A French surname, carried by 5,076 people in the United States.

2 syllables Soundex F623 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). Forest is more common than 95.9% of them.

Origin

French origin

French surname, from Old French forest (“forest”). Compare Laforest and Deforest. Also an English and Scottish surname, variant of Forrest and related to the above.

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 5,076 people named Forest in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 60,825 Americans. That is up 1.4% since 2000, when the Census counted 5,006.

#6,661

rank among US surnames

5,076

people in 2010

1.7

per 100,000 Americans

+1.4%

change since 2000 (was #6,270)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#6,656	Burson	5,082	60,753
#6,657	Hammack	5,080	60,777
#6,658	Beauregard	5,078	60,801
#6,661	Forest	5,076	60,825

Who is named Forest

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

66% of people named Forest identified as white (not Hispanic), 28% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.7% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 66%
Black (not Hispanic) 28%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.7%
Two or more races 2.1%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.9%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.3%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Forests

4 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Michael Forest
Actor, 1929–2026
Mark Forest
American actor, bodybuilder and opera singer, 1933–2022
Dan Forest
American politician (born 1967)
Sue Myrick
American politician, born 1941

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Forest

Forest has the Soundex code F623, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code F623.

Other French surnames

All 791 French surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Forest come from?: French surname, from Old French forest (“forest”). Compare Laforest and Deforest. Also an English and Scottish surname, variant of Forrest and related to the above.
How common is the surname Forest?: 5,076 people in the United States had the surname Forest in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 60,825 Americans. It ranked 6,661st of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Forest?: In the 2010 Census, 66% of people named Forest identified as white (not Hispanic), and 28% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Forest?: Michael Forest, actor, followed by Mark Forest.
Where is the surname Forest most common?: Wikidata records people named Forest in the United States.
Is the surname Forest getting more or less common?: More common. 5,006 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 5,076 in 2010, up 1.4%.
Is Forest also a first name?: Yes. Forest 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.