Forney
An uncommon surname that may come from a Norman/French place-name form, though older sources also linked it loosely to “fortune” or other French names.
The #5,172 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 45,706 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The evidence is mixed. Several 19th-century surname dictionaries connect Forney with Norman or French forms, and one source suggests it may reflect a Norman-French pronunciation or spelling related to Fornet/Fornot. Other writers treated it as a French-looking surname that could be grouped with forms like Fortune, but that looks more like a loose association than a secure derivation.
History
The name appears in older surname lists and etymological compilations, especially in Anglo-Norman and French-name contexts. It is also found in modern English-speaking countries, especially the United States, where it likely reflects several separate immigrant lines rather than a single origin. Because the historical sources do not agree, its exact family history can vary from one bearer to another.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
One historical note describes Forney as a Norman-French pronunciation form of a related surname, showing how pronunciation and spelling could drift apart in medieval records.
From the historical record
“nions 1257. TvTuey, or Forney, tlie Xorman French pronunciati .n of Foruer. Sylvester Foruet of Normandy 1 K'o. Nicholas and Sylvester de Fornot 1108 (MLS). Fornet was in the Coteiitin.”
— The Norman People and their existing descendants in the British dominions and the United States