# Forrest (surname)

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

A topographical surname from Middle English for someone who lived or worked in a Royal forest (area of woodland reserved for hunting).

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | not recorded |
| Type | place, taken from where an ancestor lived or came from |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 22,954 |
| US rank (2010) | 1,569 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 13,451 people |
| Change since 2000 | +3.8% (22,124 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

English surname, from the noun forest. Also adopted and translated from the word for "forest" in various other languages by settlers.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Forrest 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) | 73% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 20% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.5% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.6% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.7% |
| Two or more races | 2.4% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Forrest in the United States, Australia and Canada.

## People named Forrest

- Frederic Forrest, American actor (1936–2023)
- Steve Forrest, American actor (1925–2013)
- John Forrest, Australian explorer and politician (1847-1918)
- Sally Forrest, American actress (1928–2013)
- Vernon Forrest, American boxer (1971–2009)
- Steve Forrest, American drummer
- Helen Forrest, American singer (1917-1999)
- Jimmy Forrest, African American jazz musician (1920-1980)
- William Forrest, American actor (1902–1989)
- Allan Forrest, actor (1885-1941)
- Trent Forrest, American basketball player (born 1998)
- Edwin Forrest, American actor (1806-1872)

and 6 more on Wikidata.

## Similar surnames

Frost, Forest, Forst, Forrester, Forsythe, Forster, Forsyth, Forester, Foerster, Frausto, Firestone, Frechette.

## 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.