2000
#12,851
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,195
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.81
Rare Last name
Forst
A German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) topographic surname referring to someone who lived near a forest.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,486 Americans carry the last name Forst. That puts it at #13,429 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.73 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 137,874 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Forst 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Forst with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.5K
1 in 137,874
Census rank
#13,429
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,168 bearers of the surname Forst in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.73 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13429th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Forst, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Forst
The surname Forst is of German origin and dates back to the 13th century. It is derived from the Middle High German word "vorst," which means "forest" or "wooded area." The name likely originated as a topographic name, referring to someone who lived near or in a forested area.
In its earliest recorded forms, the name appeared as Vorst or Vorste in various German records and manuscripts. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Johann von Forst, a landowner mentioned in a document from the region of Saxony in 1292.
Over time, the spelling evolved to its modern form of Forst. Some variations of the name include Forstner, Forster, and Forstmeister. The latter variant, meaning "forest master" or "forestry supervisor," suggests that some bearers of the name may have held occupations related to forestry or woodland management.
The Forst surname has been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. In the 16th century, Johann Forst (1495-1558) was a German lawyer and humanist scholar who wrote extensively on legal and philosophical topics.
In the 18th century, Johann Reinhold Forster (1729-1798) was a notable German naturalist and ethnologist who accompanied James Cook on his second voyage to the Pacific. His son, Georg Forster (1754-1794), was also a renowned naturalist and revolutionary writer.
Another notable bearer of the name was Arnold Forster (1810-1884), a German-born industrialist who founded the Forster Brothers & Co. textile company in England.
The name Forst has also been linked to various place names throughout Germany, such as Forst (Lausitz) in Brandenburg and Forst an der Weinstraße in Rhineland-Palatinate. These locations may have influenced the adoption of the surname in their respective regions.
Throughout its history, the surname Forst has maintained its connection to its Germanic roots and its association with forests and woodland areas. It continues to be a prominent surname in German-speaking regions and among individuals of German descent worldwide.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Forst
Among Census respondents with the surname Forst, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Forst 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 Forst surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.9% · 2,013
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 61
- Two or more races2.4% · 51
- Black or African American0.9% · 19
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 19
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Forst
Forst 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
#13,356
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,283
+88 bearers (+4.0%)
Per 100,000 0.77
Rank movement Down 505 places
2020
#13,429
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,168
-115 bearers (-5.0%)
Per 100,000 0.73
Rank movement Down 73 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,851 | 2,195 | 0.81 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,356 | 2,283 | 0.77 | +88 bearers (+4.0%) | Down 505 places |
| 2020 | #13,429 | 2,168 | 0.73 | -115 bearers (-5.0%) | Down 73 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 Forst 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 | #13,356 | #13,429 | -0.5% |
| Count | 2,283 | 2,168 | -5.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.77 | 0.73 | -5.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Forst bearers went from 2,283 to 2,168 (-5.0% change). The surname moved down 73 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,356 to #13,429.
FAQ
Forst surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Forst?
Name Census estimates that about 2,486 living Americans carry the surname Forst. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 137,874 residents.
How common is Forst?
Forst ranks #13,429 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.73 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 2,168 people with the surname Forst. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,486), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.73 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.73 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 Forst.
Has Forst become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Forst went from 2,283 recorded bearers to 2,168. That is a decrease of 115 (-5.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,356 to #13,429.
What does the Census say about the background of Forst?
Among Census respondents with the surname Forst, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Forst in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.9% (2,013 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Forst appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.9%), Hispanic (2.8%), Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Forst (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 Forst mean?
A German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) topographic surname referring to someone who lived near a forest. 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 Forst (0.73 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 have the surname Forst?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.