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ArchivesRe: Surname Forbes
in reply to a message by Andy ;—)
With regard to the meaning, Basil Cottle (Penguin Dictionary of Surnames) gives "field, district", but precedes this with a question mark. He suggests that it is Gaelic with an English plural S tacked on (so "fields"?). Not very convincing in my opinion.Whether or not this is relevant I can't say, but the name had two syllables originally, pronounced For-bess.
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From my Irish name book ...numerous especially in the Belfast area and Tyrone and in Ulster generally. Some found in Cork. They were originally a Scottish family who settled in Longford in 1620. The name in Ulster is generally Scottish. It is also an anglicisation of Mac Firbhisigh (man of prosperity), a family of poets and historians attached to the Ui Fiachrach (in Mayo-Sligo). They complied the Book of Lecan in 1417.
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