Foster Name Origin, Meaning and Family History

Foster Name Meaning: Nickname-either for a foster parent or child. May have also derived from a frankish saint(Vedast)also known as foster.

The old English meaning is'Cild-Fostre'. The Anglo-French word is 'Forest' or the old french 'Forceter' meaning maker of shears.

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Surname Distribution

Census frequency by county

Name Concentrations Within England and Wales

Foster Surname Statistics


Top Professions for the Foster family

Profession Census Frequency
Scholar 5,171
Agricultural Labourer 839
Labourer 540
Domestic Servant 374
Coal Miner 295
General Servant 282
Dress Maker 237
House Keeper 198
Cotton Weaver 159
Annuitant 153
Farm Servant 148
Servant 142
Laundress 132
Gardener 123
Joiner 105
Shoe Maker 104
Farm Labourer 103
Carpenter 96
Tailor 90
Blacksmith 89
Worsted Weaver 87
Cook 77
Miner 70
Wife Of Above 68
General Servant Domestic 67

Foster Surname Variants Ranking

Rank Surname Match Census Frequency
1 Foster 100% 275,967
2 Faster 83% 3,806
3 Foister 86% 1,298
4 Fister 83% 803
5 Feaster 71% 650
6 Fester 83% 560
7 Fostor 83% 219
8 Fuster 83% 121
9 Fooster 86% 116

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The surname Foster is the most popular version of all its varients

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