Fortescue (surname)

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
 * 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