Forest (name)

Forest is both a French surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include:

Given name

• Forest Able (born 1932), retired American basketball player
• Frederic de Forest Allen (1844–1897), American classical scholar
• Forest B. H. Brown (1873–1954), American botanist working on pteridophytes and spermatophytes
• Forest Barber (born 1952), American racing driver from Fort Worth, Texas
• Forest Baskett, American venture capitalist, computer scientist, professor of electrical engineering at Stanford University
• Bernard Forest de Bélidor (1698–1761), French engineer in hydraulics and ballistics
• Emmett Forest Branch (1874–1932), the 31st Governor of the U.S. state of Indiana
• George de Forest Brush (1855–1941), American painter and Georgist
• William Forest Crouch (1904–1968), American director and writer of film
• Forest Davis (1879–1958), American politician from the state of Iowa
• Forest Dewey Dodrill (1902–1997), doctor who performed the first successful open heart surgery
• Forest Etheredge (1929–2004), American educator and politician
• Forest Evashevski (1918–2009), American football player, coach, college athletics administrator
• Forest K. Ferguson (1919–1954), athlete and later a decorated officer in the U.S. Army
• Forest Firestone (1876–1940), American football player and coach
• Forest Fletcher (1888–1945), US track and field Olympic athlete, coach, athletic director
• Forest Flower (horse) (1984–2011), American-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare
• Forest Geyer (1892–1932), American football fullback
• Forest Harness (1895–1974), U.S. Representative from Indiana
• Forest Hays Jr. (1928–1987), American politician in the state of Georgia
• Forest Hopkins (1912–1978), former Republican member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
• Forest City Joe (1926–1960), American blues musician mainly remembered as a harmonica player
• Forest Loudin (1890–1935), American football, basketball, and baseball coach
• Forest McNeir (1875–1957), American sport shooter who competed in the 1920 Summer Olympics
• Forest Montgomery (1874–1947), American tennis player
• Forest Ray Moulton (1872–1952), American astronomer
• J. De Forest Richards (1874–1949), American football player and banker
• Forest Rohwer (born 1969), American microbial ecologist, Professor of Biology at San Diego State University
• Forest Sale (1911–1985), American college basketball player at the University of Kentucky
• Forest D. Siefkin (1891–1964), judge of the United States Board of Tax Appeals
• Forest Sun (born 1973), Americana singer-songwriter from San Francisco, California, United States
• Forest Vance (born 1981), personal trainer and former American football player
• Forest Whitaker (born 1961), American actor, producer and director

Surname

• Antonia Forest (1915–2003), pseudonym of Patricia Giulia Caulfield Kate Rubinstein, English writer of children's novels
• Autumn de Forest (born 2001), American painter from Las Vegas, Nevada
• Carmen Forest (born 1955), American former handball player who competed in the 1984 Summer Olympics
• Delphine Forest (1966–2020), French actress
• Denis Forest (1960–2002), Canadian character actor
• Earl Forest (1926–2003), American musician
• Emmelie de Forest (born 1993), Danish singer and songwriter
• Erastus L. De Forest (1834–1888), American mathematician
• Éric Forest (born 1952), Canadian Senator from Quebec
• Frank Forest (1896–1976), American opera singer
• Fred Forest (born 1933), French new media artist
• George Beach de Forest Jr. (1848–1932), American capitalist, bibliophile and art collector
• Gérard La Forest (1926–2025), puisne justice of the Supreme Court of Canada
• Green Forest (1979–2000), American-bred French-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire
• Henry S. De Forest (1847–1917), U.S. Representative from New York
• Jacques Forest (1920–2012), French carcinologist
• James J. F. Forest, author and a professor at the University of Massachusetts Lowell
• Jean Forest, OC (1926–2024), Canadian Senator
• Jean-Baptiste Forest (1636–1712), French landscape painter
• Jean-Claude Forest (1930–1998), French comic book author, creator of Barbarella
• Jean-Marie Forest (1752–1794) Modena was a general of the French Revolution
• Jean Kurt Forest (1909–1975), German violinist and violist, Kapellmeister and composer
• Jessé de Forest (1576–1624), leader of a group of Walloon Huguenots fleeing religious persecution
• Jim Forest (1941–2022), American writer, lay theologian, educator, peace activist
• Joanna Forest, opera crossover soprano singer
• John Anthony Forest (1838–1911), French-born clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church
• John de Forest (1907–1997), English amateur golfer
• John Forest (1471–1538), English Roman Catholic martyr and friar
• John William De Forest (1826–1906), American soldier and writer
• Karl Forest (1874–1944), Austrian actor
• Lee de Forest (1873–1961), American inventor with over 180 patents to his credit
• Léonard Forest (born 1928), Acadian filmmaker, poet and essayist
• Lockwood de Forest (1850–1932), American painter, interior designer and furniture designer
• Ludger Forest (L'Assomption MLA) (1826–1903), physician and political figure in Quebec
• Ludger Forest (Sherbrooke MLA) (1877–1943), dentist and political figure in Quebec
• Luigi De La Forest (1668–1738), Italian-French painter, who was active in Modena
• Marian de Forest (1864–1935), American journalist, playwright, founder of Zonta
• Mark Forest (1933–2022), American actor and bodybuilder
• Maurice de Forest (1879–1968), early motor racing driver, aviator and Liberal politician in the UK
• Michael Forest (born 1929), American actor who provides the voices for many animated titles
• Mickaël Forest (born 1975), French rugby union footballer
• Patsy De Forest (1894–1966), American actress of the silent cinema era who performed on the stage since childhood
• Philippe Forest (born 1962), French author and professor of literature
• Robert E. De Forest (1845–1924), Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from Connecticut
• Robert Forest (cyclist) (born 1961), former French professional cyclist
• Roy De Forest (1930–2007), American painter
• Viviane Forest (born 1979), Canadian multi-sport Paralympic medallist
• Yves Forest, QC (1921–2019), Liberal party member of the House of Commons of Canada

Fictional characters

• Forest Law (Tekken), a playable character in Namco Bandai's Tekken fighting game franchise

See also

• Forrest (given name)
• Forrest (surname)
• Patrik "f0rest" Lindberg (born 1998), Swedish Counter-Strike and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player
• DeForest (name)
• Dominic "Forest" Lapointe, bassist of Augury, formerly of Beyond Creation