Find out how popular the last name Foister is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Foister.

Foister, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Foister surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Foister in America

Foister is the 50362nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Foister surname appeared 415 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Foister.

We can also compare 2010 data for Foister to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Foister

The surname FOISTER is believed to have originated in England during the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century. It is thought to be derived from the Old English word "foster," which referred to someone who was responsible for nurturing or raising a child that was not their own.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the FOISTER surname can be found in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1327, which mention a John le Fostre. This suggests that the name was initially used as a descriptive term for someone who worked as a foster parent or caregiver.

In the 15th century, the FOISTER surname appeared in various medieval records, including the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1464, where a Thomas Forster was mentioned. This spelling variation highlights the fluidity of surnames during that time period.

The FOISTER name is also associated with various place names across England, such as Forster's Booths in Westmorland and Forster's Green in Buckinghamshire. These place names may have been derived from individuals bearing the FOISTER surname who lived or worked in those areas.

One notable individual with the FOISTER surname was Sir John Forster (c. 1520 - 1602), an English soldier and politician who served as the Warden of the Middle Marches on the Scottish border. He played a significant role in the Anglo-Scottish border conflicts during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.

Another prominent figure was Thomas Forster (1675 - 1738), an English mathematician and philosopher who made contributions to the study of calculus and the theory of fluxions. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1723.

In the literary world, Edward Morgan Forster (1879 - 1970) was a renowned English novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is best known for his novels such as "A Room with a View," "Howards End," and "A Passage to India."

The FOISTER surname also had a presence in the United States, with individuals like William Forster (1784 - 1854), a Quaker minister and abolitionist from Pennsylvania, who was a prominent figure in the anti-slavery movement.

Finally, Arnold Foister (1886 - 1977) was a British architect and designer who made significant contributions to the Art Deco and Modernist architectural movements in the early 20th century.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Foister

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Foister.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Foister was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Foister has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Foister was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Foister, please contact us.

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