2010
#150,452
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Forsten
A habitational surname derived from a place name referring to a wooded area or forest.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 131 Americans carry the last name Forsten. That puts it at #146,495 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,616,445 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Forsten 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 Forsten with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
131
1 in 2,616,445
Census rank
#146,495
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
114
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 114 bearers of the surname Forsten in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 146495th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Forsten, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.9%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Forsten
The surname Forsten is believed to have originated in Scandinavia, particularly in Sweden and Norway, during the medieval period. It is thought to be derived from the Old Norse word "forst," meaning "waterfall" or "rapid stream." This suggests that the name may have originated as a topographic descriptor, referring to someone who lived near a waterfall or a fast-flowing river.
One of the earliest known records of the name Forsten can be found in the Swedish census records from the 16th century. In these records, the name is spelled in various ways, including "Forsten," "Forstaen," and "Forstenn." This variation in spelling was common during that time, as standardized spelling conventions had not yet been established.
In the 17th century, the name Forsten appeared in several historical documents, such as church records and land registries, in various parts of Sweden and Norway. One notable mention is in the records of the Swedish city of Göteborg (Gothenburg), where a man named Erik Forsten is listed as a merchant and landowner in the year 1642.
The name Forsten has also been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Johan Forsten, a Swedish military officer who fought in the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648). Another notable figure was Lars Forsten, a Norwegian explorer and naturalist who participated in several expeditions to the Arctic regions in the late 18th century.
In the 19th century, the name Forsten gained prominence in the field of academia. Karl Forsten (1819-1891) was a Swedish linguist and philologist who made significant contributions to the study of Old Norse and Icelandic literature. Nils Forsten (1842-1912) was a Finnish-Swedish architect known for designing several notable buildings in Helsinki, including the National Museum of Finland.
Another notable bearer of the name was Axel Forsten (1872-1945), a Swedish painter and illustrator who was part of the Konstnärsförbundet (Artists' Association) in Stockholm. His works often depicted landscapes and scenes from rural Sweden.
While the surname Forsten is not as common today as it once was, it continues to be found in various parts of Scandinavia, particularly in Sweden and Norway, as well as among individuals of Scandinavian descent living in other parts of the world.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Forsten
Among Census respondents with the surname Forsten, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.9%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Forsten 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 Forsten surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.7% · 100
- Hispanic or Latino7.9% · 9
- Two or more races4.4% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Forsten
Forsten appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#146,495
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
+5 bearers (+4.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 3,957 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #150,452 | 109 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #146,495 | 114 | 0.04 | +5 bearers (+4.6%) | Up 3,957 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 Forsten 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 | #150,452 | #146,495 | 2.6% |
| Count | 109 | 114 | 4.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -4.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Forsten bearers went from 109 to 114 (+4.6% change). The surname moved up 3,957 positions in the national ranking, going from #150,452 to #146,495.
FAQ
Forsten surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Forsten?
Name Census estimates that about 131 living Americans carry the surname Forsten. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,616,445 residents.
How common is Forsten?
Forsten ranks #146,495 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 114 people with the surname Forsten. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (131), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Forsten.
Has Forsten become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Forsten went from 109 recorded bearers to 114. That is an increase of 5 (+4.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #150,452 to #146,495.
What does the Census say about the background of Forsten?
Among Census respondents with the surname Forsten, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.9%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Forsten in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.7% (100 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Forsten appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.7%), Hispanic (7.9%), Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Forsten (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 Forsten mean?
A habitational surname derived from a place name referring to a wooded area or 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 Forsten (0.04 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 common is the surname Forsten?
You can see how many people are called Forsten on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.