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Fortune Family History

Fortune Name Meaning

English and French: nickname for a gambler or for someone considered fortunate or well favored, from Middle English, Old French fortune ‘chance’, ‘luck’. In some cases it may derive from the rare medieval personal name Fortune (Latin Fortunius). French (Fortuné): from the personal name Fortuné, a vernacular form of the Late Latin personal name Fortunatus meaning ‘prosperous’, ‘happy’. Scottish: habitational name from a place in Lothian, probably so named from Old English for ‘hog’, ‘pig’ + tun ‘settlement’, ‘enclosure’; John de Fortun was servant to the abbot of Kelso c. 1200.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names ©2013, Oxford University Press


Similar surnames: Fortun, Fortuna, Forte, Fort, Forton, Orton, Horton, Worton, Borne

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Hint: Try searching for a relative alive in 1940.

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Where is the Fortune family from?

You can see how Fortune families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Fortune family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Fortune families were found in USA in 1880. In 1840 there were 22 Fortune families living in Virginia. This was about 21% of all the recorded Fortune's in USA. Virginia had the highest population of Fortune families in 1840.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Fortune surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.
  • 1840
  • 1880
  • 1920
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What did your Fortune ancestors do for a living?

In 1940, Laborer and Maid were the top reported jobs for men and women in the USA named Fortune. 22% of Fortune men worked as a Laborer and 10% of Fortune women worked as a Maid. Some less common occupations for Americans named Fortune were Truck Driver and Housekeeper. .

View Census Data for Fortune | Data not to scale

*We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

Top Male Occupations In 1940

  • Laborer
    22%
  • Farmer
    13%
  • Salesman
    6%
  • Truck Driver
    4%

Top Female Occupations In 1940

  • Maid
    10%
  • Cook
    7%
  • Teacher
    7%
  • Housekeeper
    7%
Black & white image of two construction labourers

What Fortune family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 74,000 census records available for the last name Fortune. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Fortune census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search US census records for Fortune

Passenger Lists

There are 7,000 immigration records available for the last name Fortune. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in the USA, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

View all Fortune immigration records

Draft Cards

There are 13,000 military records available for the last name Fortune. For the veterans among your Fortune ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

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You've only scratched the surface of Fortune family history

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What is the average Fortune lifespan?

Between 1943 and 2004, in the United States, Fortune life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1943, and highest in 2002. The average life expectancy for Fortune in 1943 was 22, and 73 in 2004.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Fortune

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