Derived from the name of the ‘forest keeper’.
Archebaldus Forestar witnessed a grant by Gillemor filius Gilleconel to the church of Leshmagow in 1444, and in 1190 William Forestarius’s house was one of the boundaries of the lands of the church of Molle.
In 1200 Marninus Forestarius had lands in the town of Dunipas, and in 1245 Robert the forester witnessed a resignation of lands in Annandale.
John le Forester of Berwickshire rendered homage in 1296, Moris le Forester was one of the inquisition on the lands of Sir John de Calentir in 1303, and William Forrester appears in the muster-roll of the peel of Linlithgow in 1311.
Torwood Castle, near Falkirk, was built around 1566 for Sir Alexander Forrester
The Forrestars of Garden were a prominent family in Stirlingshire and the name appears in the records of Stirling, particularly between 1360 – 1654. The Lords Forrester owned the lands of Torwood near Falkirk, and in the latter half of the 16th century Torwood Castle was built for Sir Alexander Forrester. The castle was in the Scottish Baronial style, but now stands in ruin.
In the 14th century in Edinburgh a Forrester family was among the most ancient representatives of the burgher nobility.