2000
#14,898
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,822
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.68
Rare Last name
Laforest
A habitational surname denoting someone who lived near or worked in a forest.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,217 Americans carry the last name Laforest. That puts it at #14,748 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.65 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 154,603 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Laforest 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.
Bearers in the US
2.2K
1 in 154,603
Census rank
#14,748
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,933 bearers of the surname Laforest in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.65 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14748th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Laforest, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.6%. The next largest groups are Black (19.1%) and Hispanic (3.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Laforest
The surname LAFOREST originated in France during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the French words "la" meaning "the" and "forêt" meaning "forest", referring to someone who lived near or in a forest. The name may have also referred to someone who worked in forestry or as a forester.
In its early form, the name was often spelled DELAFOREST or DE LA FOREST, indicating the person hailed from a specific forest. Over time, the spelling evolved to the more simplified LAFOREST. Similar variations include LAFORÊT, LAFOREEST, and LAFORREST.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name LAFOREST can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, a medieval census commissioned by William the Conqueror. The entry mentions a landowner named Robert de la Forest in Nottinghamshire, England.
In the 13th century, a wealthy French nobleman named Pierre de la Forest was documented as owning vast tracts of land near the Ardennes Forest in northeastern France. His descendants continued to use the surname LAFOREST for generations.
During the Renaissance period, a famous French philosopher and writer named Pierre de la Ramée, also known as Petrus Ramus (1515-1572), was born with the surname LAFOREST. He made significant contributions to the field of logic and rhetoric.
In the 18th century, a French military officer named Jean-Baptiste de la Forest (1721-1799) served in the American Revolutionary War and was instrumental in securing French support for the American colonies.
Another notable figure was Antoine LAFOREST (1823-1892), a French architect who designed several prominent buildings in Paris, including the Church of Saint-Ambroise and the Hôtel de Ville (City Hall).
During the 19th century, a Canadian politician named Élie LAFOREST (1839-1917) served as a member of the Canadian Parliament and was actively involved in promoting French-Canadian rights and culture.
The surname LAFOREST has also been associated with various place names throughout France, such as La Forêt-le-Roi in Normandy and La Forêt-Fouesnant in Brittany, further reinforcing its connection to wooded areas and forests.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Laforest
Among Census respondents with the surname Laforest, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.6%. The next largest groups are Black (19.1%) and Hispanic (3.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Laforest 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 Laforest surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White73.6% · 1,422
- Black or African American19.1% · 370
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 63
- Two or more races3.0% · 58
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Laforest
Laforest 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
#14,957
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,977
+155 bearers (+8.5%)
Per 100,000 0.67
Rank movement Down 59 places
2020
#14,748
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,933
-44 bearers (-2.2%)
Per 100,000 0.65
Rank movement Up 209 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,898 | 1,822 | 0.68 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,957 | 1,977 | 0.67 | +155 bearers (+8.5%) | Down 59 places |
| 2020 | #14,748 | 1,933 | 0.65 | -44 bearers (-2.2%) | Up 209 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 Laforest 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 | #14,957 | #14,748 | 1.4% |
| Count | 1,977 | 1,933 | -2.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.67 | 0.65 | -3.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Laforest bearers went from 1,977 to 1,933 (-2.2% change). The surname moved up 209 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,957 to #14,748.
FAQ
Laforest surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Laforest?
Name Census estimates that about 2,217 living Americans carry the surname Laforest. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 154,603 residents.
How common is Laforest?
Laforest ranks #14,748 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.65 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,933 people with the surname Laforest. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,217), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.65 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.65 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Laforest.
Has Laforest become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Laforest went from 1,977 recorded bearers to 1,933. That is a decrease of 44 (-2.2%). In the national ranking it rose from #14,957 to #14,748.
What does the Census say about the background of Laforest?
Among Census respondents with the surname Laforest, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.6%. The next largest groups are Black (19.1%) and Hispanic (3.3%). 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 Laforest in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.6% (1,422 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Laforest appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (73.6%), Black (19.1%), Hispanic (3.3%). 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 Laforest (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 Laforest mean?
A habitational surname denoting someone who lived near or worked in a 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 Laforest (0.65 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 Laforest?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.