2000
#1,186
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 27,130
First available Census row
Per 100,000 10.06
Uncommon Last name
Foreman
An occupational surname denoting a person who supervises workers, particularly in construction or manufacturing.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 31,001 Americans carry the last name Foreman. That puts it at #1,273 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 9.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 11,056 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Foreman 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 Foreman with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
31K
1 in 11,056
Census rank
#1,273
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
9.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
27K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 27,034 bearers of the surname Foreman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 9.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1273rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Foreman, the largest self-reported group is White at 62.8%. The next largest groups are Black (26.6%) and Two or More Races (5.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Foreman
The surname Foreman is of English origin, derived from the occupational term "foreman," which referred to an overseer or supervisor of work, particularly in the agricultural or forestry sectors. The name can be traced back to the Middle English period, around the 13th to 15th centuries.
The name is thought to have originated in the central and southern regions of England, where agriculture and forestry were significant industries. Its earliest recorded instances can be found in various historical records, such as the Hundred Rolls of 1273, which lists individuals with the surname Foreman or variants like Forman.
One of the earliest known references to the name Foreman is in the Domesday Book of 1086, which mentions a landowner named Radulfus Foreman in Oxfordshire. This suggests that the surname was already in use before the Norman Conquest of 1066.
In the 14th century, the surname Foreman appeared in various spellings, such as Forman, Formane, and Foremon, reflecting the evolution of the English language and regional variations in pronunciation and spelling.
Notable individuals with the surname Foreman throughout history include:
1. Sir John Foreman (c. 1438-1518), a British merchant and diplomat who served as Lord Mayor of London in 1501.
2. Simon Foreman (1552-1611), an English astrologer and occultist who gained notoriety during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
3. Richard Foreman (c. 1610-1678), an English philosopher and physician who wrote extensively on medical ethics and the history of medicine.
4. John Foreman (1817-1879), an Irish-born American architect and engineer best known for his work on the Brooklyn Bridge.
5. George Foreman (born 1949), a legendary American professional boxer and former two-time heavyweight champion, known for his resilience and his iconic grill product line.
The surname Foreman has also been associated with various place names in England, such as Foreman's Green in Sussex and Foreman's Farm in Hampshire, further reflecting its historical roots and geographical spread across the country.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Foreman
Among Census respondents with the surname Foreman, the largest self-reported group is White at 62.8%. The next largest groups are Black (26.6%) and Two or More Races (5.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Foreman 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 Foreman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White62.8% · 16,972
- Black or African American26.6% · 7,187
- Two or more races5.0% · 1,347
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 962
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 383
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 183
Timeline
Historical Census data for Foreman
Foreman 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
#1,234
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 28,605
+1,475 bearers (+5.4%)
Per 100,000 9.70
Rank movement Down 48 places
2020
#1,273
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 27,034
-1,571 bearers (-5.5%)
Per 100,000 9.04
Rank movement Down 39 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,186 | 27,130 | 10.06 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,234 | 28,605 | 9.70 | +1,475 bearers (+5.4%) | Down 48 places |
| 2020 | #1,273 | 27,034 | 9.04 | -1,571 bearers (-5.5%) | Down 39 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 Foreman 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 | #1,234 | #1,273 | -3.2% |
| Count | 28,605 | 27,034 | -5.5% |
| Per 100K | 9.70 | 9.04 | -6.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Foreman bearers went from 28,605 to 27,034 (-5.5% change). The surname moved down 39 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,234 to #1,273.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Foreman
FAQ
Foreman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Foreman?
Name Census estimates that about 31,001 living Americans carry the surname Foreman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 11,056 residents.
How common is Foreman?
Foreman ranks #1,273 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 9.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 9 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 27,034 people with the surname Foreman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (31,001), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 9.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 9.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 9 of them to have the surname Foreman.
Has Foreman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Foreman went from 28,605 recorded bearers to 27,034. That is a decrease of 1,571 (-5.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,234 to #1,273.
What does the Census say about the background of Foreman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Foreman, the largest self-reported group is White at 62.8%. The next largest groups are Black (26.6%) and Two or More Races (5.0%). 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 Foreman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 62.8% (16,972 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Foreman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (62.8%), Black (26.6%), Two or More Races (5.0%). 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 Foreman (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 Foreman mean?
An occupational surname denoting a person who supervises workers, particularly in construction or manufacturing. 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 Foreman (9.04 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 many people have the surname Foreman?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.