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

Foreman, 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 Foreman surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Foreman in America

Foreman is the 1234th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Foreman surname appeared 28,605 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 10 people would have the surname Foreman.

We can also compare 2010 data for Foreman 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 Foreman

The surname Foreman is of English origin, derived from the occupational term "foreman," which referred to an overseer or supervisor of work, particularly in the agricultural or forestry sectors. The name can be traced back to the Middle English period, around the 13th to 15th centuries.

The name is thought to have originated in the central and southern regions of England, where agriculture and forestry were significant industries. Its earliest recorded instances can be found in various historical records, such as the Hundred Rolls of 1273, which lists individuals with the surname Foreman or variants like Forman.

One of the earliest known references to the name Foreman is in the Domesday Book of 1086, which mentions a landowner named Radulfus Foreman in Oxfordshire. This suggests that the surname was already in use before the Norman Conquest of 1066.

In the 14th century, the surname Foreman appeared in various spellings, such as Forman, Formane, and Foremon, reflecting the evolution of the English language and regional variations in pronunciation and spelling.

Notable individuals with the surname Foreman throughout history include:

1. Sir John Foreman (c. 1438-1518), a British merchant and diplomat who served as Lord Mayor of London in 1501.
2. Simon Foreman (1552-1611), an English astrologer and occultist who gained notoriety during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
3. Richard Foreman (c. 1610-1678), an English philosopher and physician who wrote extensively on medical ethics and the history of medicine.
4. John Foreman (1817-1879), an Irish-born American architect and engineer best known for his work on the Brooklyn Bridge.
5. George Foreman (born 1949), a legendary American professional boxer and former two-time heavyweight champion, known for his resilience and his iconic grill product line.

The surname Foreman has also been associated with various place names in England, such as Foreman's Green in Sussex and Foreman's Farm in Hampshire, further reflecting its historical roots and geographical spread across the country.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Foreman

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

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 Foreman 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 Foreman 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 Foreman was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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