# Forsythe (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/forsythe/  
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) | 11,489 |
| US rank (2010) | 3,147 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 26,873 people |
| Change since 2000 | +0.9% (11,382 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈfɔɹsaɪθ/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | Forsyte |

## Etymology

Anglicized form of the Scottish Gaelic personal name Fearsithe, composed of the elements fear (“man”) + sìth (“peace”).

## Who carries it

Share of people named Forsythe 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) | 90% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 4.3% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.6% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.6% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.7% |
| Two or more races | 1.7% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Forsythe in the United States.

## People named Forsythe

- John Forsythe, American film and television actor (1918–2010)
- William Forsythe, American actor
- William Forsythe, American choreographer (born 1949)

## Similar surnames

Forsyth, Frost, Forrest, Forrester, Forster, Forest, Forester, Foerster, Forst, 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.