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

Forseth, 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 Forseth surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Forseth in America

Forseth is the 25793rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Forseth surname appeared 955 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 Forseth.

We can also compare 2010 data for Forseth 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 Forseth

The surname Forseth is of Norwegian origin, originating in the Middle Ages. It is believed to have derived from the Old Norse words "forr" meaning waterfall and "setr" meaning mountain farm or summer pasture. The name likely referred to someone who lived near a waterfall or mountainous area used for summer grazing of livestock.

The earliest recorded instances of the Forseth name can be found in medieval Norwegian records and church registers from the 13th century onwards. Some variations in spelling included Forseth, Forsseth, and Forsæth. Notable early bearers of the name include Gunnulf Forseth, a farmer from Voss mentioned in a land deed from 1346.

During the Viking Age, the Forseth name may have been present in areas of Norse settlement and influence, such as parts of Scotland, Ireland, and northern England. However, historical records from this period are scarce and often lacking in detail regarding specific surnames.

In the 16th century, the name appears in the Diplomatorium Norvegicum, a collection of medieval Norwegian documents. A man named Eirik Forseth is mentioned in a legal dispute from 1567 over land rights in Hardanger.

Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the Forseth surname. Peder Forseth (1755-1829) was a Norwegian farmer and politician who served as a representative in the Storting, the Norwegian parliament. Hans Forseth (1868-1936) was a Norwegian writer and poet who won the Norwegian Critics Prize in 1911 for his collection of poems "Fjalljärv".

Other notable Forseths include Inga Forseth (1927-2016), a Norwegian actress known for her roles in films such as "Ni Liv" and "Sølvmunn", and Kjell Forseth (born 1939), a Norwegian businessman and former CEO of the Kvaerner engineering company.

While the name Forseth is primarily found in Norway, it has also spread to other parts of the world through Norwegian emigration in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Forseth

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!