Forrest
A surname usually taken from someone who lived by or worked at a forest.
The #1,569 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 13,451 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Forrest is generally a locational surname from Middle English and Anglo-Norman French forest, meaning a wood or hunting preserve. In early records it could describe someone living “at the forest” or near a forested place. The double -r- spelling is a common English variant of Forest rather than a separate name.
History
Medieval English records show forms such as de Forest and del Forest, used for people identified by where they lived. The surname also appears in place-based surname lists from several parts of England, and later spread widely in Britain and then to North America. Forrest and Forest have long been used side by side, with Forrest often becoming the more familiar spelling in Scotland and northern England.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In older records, the name could be written with or without the extra r, and both spellings often referred to the same underlying word.
From the historical record
“Roman; Addaf = Adam] Soe did S>- Tristerant, y' gentle kt, To the forrest fresh and gay. — 'Marr. of Sir Gawaine': Percy's Reliques. Tristram de Haule. — Hund. Rolls. Tristram was the spelling used by Marie de France (13th cent.) in her 'Cheverefoil.'”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)