Forster
A shortened form of Forester, originally meaning a woodkeeper or forest official.
The #3,895 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 33,869 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Forster is a reduced form of Forester, the occupational name for a forest keeper or woodward. The underlying word ultimately comes from Old French forester/forestier, from forest, meaning a wooded area or royal forest. In English surname use, the name could point to someone who worked in or lived by the forest.
History
Historical surname writers regularly treated Forster as a clipped pronunciation of Forester, and early records show both forms in medieval England. The name is especially well attested in northern and eastern English records, though it developed independently in more than one family line. Some families also preserve spellings such as Forrester or Foster, which can be related or later altered forms.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
One 19th-century source notes that some Durham families bearing the name were known locally as “the Friendly Forsters.”
From the historical record
“FORSTER. A curt pronunciation of Forester. There are many families of this name of sei)arate origins. The Durham family were characterized as The Friendly FORSTERS. FORSYTH. Probably from Forcett (whence also Fawcett) a township in the wapentake of Gillingwest, N.R. of York- shire.”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom