Forrest
Male nameEnglish
✨ Meaning
Forrest comes from the Old French 'forest,' which described land set aside for hunting under royal law rather than simply an area of trees. Medieval English forest law governed enormous tracts of countryside, and families who lived or worked within them took the word as a surname. The double r spelling is the older surname form, while the single r spells the ordinary noun.
🌍 Origin
Forrest became established as an American given name in the nineteenth century and has been used steadily since, particularly in the southern United States. It belongs to the same group of landscape surnames as Wood, Grove and Heath, and it gained wide recognition through popular film in the 1990s without ever becoming a mass-market name.
⭐ Famous People Named Forrest
- Forrest Gregg
- Forrest Mars
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
What does Forrest mean?
Forrest means woodland, from the Old French 'forest,' which originally described land reserved for royal hunting.
Is it Forrest or Forest?
Forrest with two r's is the traditional surname and given-name spelling. Forest with one r is the ordinary English noun.
Where is Forrest most used?
It is chiefly an American name and has been most common in the southern United States.