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

Forshee, 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 Forshee surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Forshee in America

Forshee is the 13435th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Forshee surname appeared 2,268 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Forshee.

We can also compare 2010 data for Forshee 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 Forshee

The surname "FORSHEE" is believed to have originated in the region of England known as Yorkshire. Its earliest known roots can be traced back to the late 12th century, derived from the Old English words "fore" meaning "before" and "sche" meaning "woods" or "forest". This suggests that the name likely referred to someone who lived near or worked in the forested areas ahead of a particular village or town.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from the year 1208, where a man named Walter Forshey is listed as a landowner. It's possible that this spelling variation, "Forshey", was an early iteration of the modern "FORSHEE" surname.

In the 14th century, the name appears in the Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield, which documented legal proceedings in the area. A certain Richard Forshe is mentioned as being involved in a land dispute in the year 1327.

The surname may also have ties to the village of Forshill, located in the East Riding of Yorkshire. This place name, which dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086, could have contributed to the development of the "FORSHEE" surname over time.

Notable individuals who have borne the "FORSHEE" surname throughout history include:

1. John Forshee (1634-1705), an early settler in the American colonies who emigrated from England to Virginia in the late 17th century.

2. William Forshee (1776-1854), an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia between 1823 and 1825.

3. Sarah Forshee (1802-1883), an American pioneer and one of the first female settlers in the state of Texas, arriving in the 1830s.

4. Thomas Forshee (1848-1922), a British politician and Member of Parliament for the constituency of Louth from 1900 to 1906.

5. Margaret Forshee (1878-1961), an American author and poet who published several collections of works in the early 20th century.

The "FORSHEE" surname has endured for centuries, with its roots firmly planted in the historic landscapes of Yorkshire and its potential connections to the English countryside and forestry.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Forshee

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

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Forshee, 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!