2000
#8,337
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,653
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.35
Rare Last name
Forehand
An English occupational surname for someone who worked at the front of a team of reapers or mowers.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,159 Americans carry the last name Forehand. That puts it at #8,682 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.21 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 82,413 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Forehand surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
4.2K
1 in 82,413
Census rank
#8,682
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,627 bearers of the surname Forehand in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.21 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8682nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Forehand, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.1%. The next largest groups are Black (10.4%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Forehand
The surname Forehand is believed to have originated in England during the medieval period. It is thought to have derived from the Old English words "fore" meaning "before" or "in front," and "hand" referring to a skilled craftsman or worker. Essentially, the name likely referred to someone who worked as a foreman or supervisor, overseeing others in a trade or profession.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the Forehand surname can be found in the Feet of Fines records from Buckinghamshire in 1242, which document a Robert Forehand. This suggests the name was already established in parts of southern England by the 13th century.
The Forehand name also appeared in various manorial and parish records throughout the Middle Ages, such as the Subsidy Rolls for Warwickshire in 1332, where a John Forehand is listed. This indicates the name had spread to different regions of the country over time.
In the 16th century, the Forehand surname is recorded in the Visitations of Yorkshire from 1584, which documented the pedigrees and coats of arms of prominent families. This suggests there were Forehands of notable status in northern England during this period.
One of the earliest known bearers of the Forehand name was William Forehand, who was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, in 1572. He was a contemporary of the famous playwright William Shakespeare, though no direct connection between the two is recorded.
Another notable early Forehand was John Forehand, born in 1625 in Gloucestershire. He was a merchant and landowner who played a role in the English Civil War, supporting the Parliamentarian cause against King Charles I.
In the 18th century, the Forehand name appears in various records related to the British colonial expansion in North America. For example, a Thomas Forehand is listed as a settler in Virginia in the 1720s.
One of the most prominent individuals with the Forehand surname was Sir Willoughby Forehand, born in 1785 in Devonshire. He was a distinguished military officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars and later became a Member of Parliament.
As the centuries progressed, the Forehand name spread to other parts of the English-speaking world through migration and settlement, though its origins can be traced back to its medieval English roots.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Forehand
Among Census respondents with the surname Forehand, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.1%. The next largest groups are Black (10.4%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Forehand bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Forehand surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White81.1% · 2,942
- Black or African American10.4% · 377
- Two or more races4.6% · 166
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 96
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 26
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 20
Timeline
Historical Census data for Forehand
Forehand appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#8,690
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,779
+126 bearers (+3.4%)
Per 100,000 1.28
Rank movement Down 353 places
2020
#8,682
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,627
-152 bearers (-4.0%)
Per 100,000 1.21
Rank movement Up 8 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,337 | 3,653 | 1.35 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,690 | 3,779 | 1.28 | +126 bearers (+3.4%) | Down 353 places |
| 2020 | #8,682 | 3,627 | 1.21 | -152 bearers (-4.0%) | Up 8 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Forehand surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #8,690 | #8,682 | 0.1% |
| Count | 3,779 | 3,627 | -4.0% |
| Per 100K | 1.28 | 1.21 | -5.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Forehand bearers went from 3,779 to 3,627 (-4.0% change). The surname moved up 8 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,690 to #8,682.
FAQ
Forehand surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Forehand?
Name Census estimates that about 4,159 living Americans carry the surname Forehand. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 82,413 residents.
How common is Forehand?
Forehand ranks #8,682 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.21 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,627 people with the surname Forehand. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,159), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.21 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.21 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Forehand.
Has Forehand become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Forehand went from 3,779 recorded bearers to 3,627. That is a decrease of 152 (-4.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #8,690 to #8,682.
What does the Census say about the background of Forehand?
Among Census respondents with the surname Forehand, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.1%. The next largest groups are Black (10.4%) and Two or More Races (4.6%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Forehand in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.1% (2,942 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Forehand appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (81.1%), Black (10.4%), Two or More Races (4.6%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Forehand (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Forehand mean?
An English occupational surname for someone who worked at the front of a team of reapers or mowers. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Forehand (1.21 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people are called Forehand?
See how many Americans have the surname Forehand on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.