Fortescue is an English surname that originated from the old Norman epithet Fort-Escu ("strong shield"). People with the surname include:
- Adrian Fortescue (martyr), 16th-century English nobleman beatified by Roman Catholic Church
- Adrian Fortescue (priest), 19th-20th century Roman Catholic liturgist and Byzantine scholar
- Anthony Fortescue (1535–1608), English conspirator
- Charles Granville Fortescue (1861–1951), British Army officer
- Charles Legeyt Fortescue (1876–1936), a Canadian-born electrical engineer
- Chichester Parkinson-Fortescue, 1st Baron Carlingford
- Chichester Fortescue (disambiguation)
- Chichester Fortescue (1718–1757), MP for Trim
- Chichester Fortescue (1750–1820), Admiral and MP for Trim, son of the above
- Chichester Fortescue (1777–1826), MP for Hillsborough, nephew of the above
- Chichester Parkinson-Fortescue, 1st Baron Carlingford (1823–1898), Liberal politician, son of the above
- Denzil Fortescue, 6th Earl Fortescue
- Dudley Fortescue (d. 1604), politician
- Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale, (1872 – 1945), English artist
- Edmund Fortescue (disambiguation)
- Edmund Fortescue (died 1624) (1560–1624), English MP
- Edmund Fortescue (died 1647) (1610–1647), English royalist commander
- Sir Edmund Fortescue, 1st Baronet (1642–1666)
- Francis Fortescue (ca. 1563-1624), English politician
- Francis Fortescue Urquhart (1868–1934), an English academic
- Grace Fortescue (1883-1979), a New York socialite who killed a defendant charged with the rape of her daughter
- George Fortescue (c.1578–1659), English essayist and poet
- Harriet Angelina Fortescue (1825–1889), a British writer on international affairs
- Henry Fortescue (Lord Chief Justice) of Ireland
- Henry Fortescue (MP, died 1576)
- Hugh Fortescue (disambiguation)
- Hugh Fortescue (1665–1719), British politician
- Hugh Fortescue, 1st Earl Fortescue (1753–1841), British peer
- Hugh Fortescue, 2nd Earl Fortescue (1783–1861), British Whig politician
- Hugh Fortescue, 3rd Earl Fortescue (1818–1905), British peer and politician
- Hugh Fortescue, 4th Earl Fortescue (1854–1932), English Liberal politician
- Hugh Fortescue, 5th Earl Fortescue (1888–1958), British peer and Conservative politician
- John Fortescue (disambiguation)
- John Fortescue (judge) (c. 1394–1479), English lawyer and judge, MP for Tavistock, Totnes, Plympton Erle and Wiltshire
- John Fortescue of Salden, the seventh Chancellor of the Exchequer of England, serving from 1589 until 1603
- John Fortescue (military historian), (1859–1933), historian of the British army
- John Fortescue Aland, 1st Baron Fortescue of Credan
- Lady Margaret Fortescue (1923-2013), one of the UK's largest private landowners
- Michael Fortescue, a linguist specializing in Arctic and native North American languages
- Nicholas Fortescue the Elder (1575?-1633), chamberlain of the exchequer
- Nicholas Fortescue the Younger (1605?–1644), knight of St John
- Richard Fortescue (disambiguation)
- Rosie Fortescue in Made in Chelsea
- Tim Fortescue, a British politician
- Thomas Fortescue (disambiguation)
- Thomas Fortescue (1683–1769), Irish politician, MP for Dundalk 1727–60
- Thomas Fortescue, 1st Baron Clermont (1815–1887), Irish Whig politician
- Thomas Fortescue (1744–1799), MP for Trim in the Irish House of Commons 1768–99
- Thomas Fortescue (secretary) (1784–1872), Anglo-Indian civilian and secretary
- William Fortescue (disambiguation)
- William Fortescue (judge) (1687–1749), British judge, Master of the Rolls 1741-1749
- William Fortescue (died 1629) (c.1562-1629), MP for Sudbury, Chipping Wycombe and Stockbridge
- William Fortescue, 1st Earl of Clermont (1722–1806), Irish politician
- William Fortescue, 2nd Viscount Clermont (1764–1829), Irish politician, nephew of the above
- Winifred Fortescue, actress and writer
Characters
- J. Fortescue, a nonexistent doctor created as a hoax, supposedly a founder of the International Board of Hygiene
- Camilla Fortescue-Cholmondeley-Browne, a character on the BBC series Call the Midwife
- Florean Fortescue, character in Harry Potter
Surname listThis page lists people with the surname Fortescue. If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name(s) to the link.
References
- The Edinburgh Review. A. and C. Black. 1877. pp. 302–303.
- Clermot, Thomas Fortescue (1880). A History of the Family of Fortescue in all its Branches. London: Ellis and White. pp. 1–2.