Best (surname)

Best is a surname. In England the surname is of Anglo-Norman origin meaning the beast (beste). People with this surname:

Adolfo "Fito" Best (1891–1964), Mexican painter, film director and screenwriter
Adam Best (1983), actor
Ahmed Best (born 1973), American voice actor
Alan Best (animator) (born 1959), Canadian animator
Alan Best (sculptor) (1910–2001), Canadian sculptor
Alfred M. Best (1876–1958), American actuary
Alonzo L. Best (1854-1923), American politician
Andy Best (born 1959), former British footballer
Art Best (1953–2014), American football player
Ben Best (cryonicist)
Ben Best (actor)
Calum Best (born 1981), TV personality, son of George Best
Carlisle Best (born 1959), former West Indian cricketer
Charles Alexander "Sandy" Best (1931–1978), Canadian politician
Charles Herbert Best (1899–1978), American/Canadian physiologist
Clarence Leo Best (1878–1951), founder and chairman of Caterpillar Tractor Company
Clyde Best (born 1951), former Bermudan footballer
Daniel Best (1838–1923), founder of Best Manufacturing Company that made tractors and combine harvesting machines
David Best (sculptor) (born 1945), American sculptor
David Best (footballer) (born 1943), former English footballer
David Best (Manitoba politician) (1880–??)
Denzil Best (1917–1965), American jazz percussionist
Earl Best (born 1947), American community organizer known as the "Street Doctor"
Elsdon Best (1856–1931), New Zealand ethnographer
Eve Best (born 1971), British stage actress
George Best (1946 – 2005), Northern Irish football player
Greg Best (born 1964), American equestrian competitor and coach
Greg Best (American football) (born 1960), American football defensive back
Harold Best (born 1937), British Labour Party politician
James Best (1926–2015), American actor
Jacob Best, (1786–1861), family patriarch and founder of the Pabst Brewing Company
John William Best (1912–2000), Royal Air Force pilot who was a POW in Colditz Castle during World War II
John Best (politician) (1821–1865), British politician
John Best (soccer) (1940–2014), former US/English soccer player
John Best (guard captain), Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard
John Best (bishop) (died 1570), Bishop of Carlisle 1560–70
John Best (basketball), New Jersey Nets player
John Best (Canadian politician) (1861–1923), Canadian politician
John Best (rugby), New Zealand All Blacks player
Keith Best (born 1949), British Conservatiove party politician
Leon Best (born 1986), Irish international footballer
Marion Best, Canadian church leader
Marjorie Best (1903–1997), American Hollywood costume designer
Martin Best (born 1942) musician in ballads and early music
Mary Ellen Best (1809–1891), artist
Matthew Best (Royal Navy officer) (1878–1940), Royal Navy officer
Matthew Best (conductor) (born 1957), English bass and conductor
Neil Best (born 1979), Irish rugby union international
Paul Best (cricketer) (born 1991), English cricketer
Pete Best (born 1941), original drummer for The Beatles
Peter Best (born 1943), Australian film composer
Richard Irvine Best (1872–1959), Irish scholar
Richard Stuart Best (born 1945), member of House of Lords
Robert Henry Best (1896–1952), convicted of treason in 1948
Rory Best (born 1982), Irish rugby union international
Sigismund Payne Best (1885–1978), British Secret Intelligence Service agent
Simon Best (born 1978), Irish rugby union international
Skeeter Best (1914–1985), American jazz guitarist
Stephanie Best (born 1969), American track and field athlete
Steven Best (born 1955), American animal rights activist
Tommy Best (born 1920), Welsh footballer
Tino Best (born 1981), West Indian cricketer
Travis Best (born 1972), American professional basketball player
Werner Best (1903–1989), German jurist, police chief and SS–Obergruppenführer
William Best, 1st Baron Wynford (1767–1845), British politician and judge

Origins:

Irish, English, French, Dutch

History:

Derived from the Old English/Old French word "beste", or the Latin "bestia", meaning beast. The surname Best may be a metonym referring to one employed as a herdsman. First found in Kent, they held a family seat from ancient times, long before the Norman Conquest of 1066. Some of the first settlers to the Americas were Christopher Best, who settled in Virginia in 1623, John Best, who settled in New England in 1634, Thomas Best, who settled in Virginia in 1635, and William Best, who settled in Virginia in 1643.

See also