The Foster Name Website
Welcome to the Foster Name Website.
The name is not that common; but
it is not that rare either. It started in England and at various
locations within England and spread, as migrations started, to
Ireland and America and elsewhere where English-speaking
people went.
Foster Origins
There are probably three inter-related English surnames, Forrester
(or Forester), Forster, and Foster. I have covered here the
Fosters and the Forsters as the Forsters have sometimes lost their
"r's" in their travels.
If your name is Forster or as a Foster you can detect a Northumbrian
link in your family, then you have a very distinctive ancestry.
Otherwise there appear to be a number of origins for the name.
Foster as in foster child appears to have originated in Essex.
However, in general, Foster is more of a northern English name than a
southern
one.
This Website
My mother's maiden name was Foster. She did not know too much
about her Foster forebears. So, to comemmorate her, we sought to
trace her ancestry back. Thiis is still a work in progress.
We also decided to develop a wider Foster family history so that we
may be able to put our family into context.
This then is my own personalized rambling through the Foster history. It is meant more as a good read for Foster (and Forster) enthusiasts like myself. Some good stories are to be found (there are links from the text to the web story page). And those tracing their roots and ancestors may find some useful pointers here.
I welcome your feedback and your queries and comments.
Colin Shelley
Note: If you wish to check on other Foster and Forster
websites that are
available on the internet, click onto the Select
Surnames website.