Lower, Mark A (1860) Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom. London: J.R. Smith. Public Domain.
FOSTER
As described in historical dictionaries
Patronymica Britannica (1860)
FOSTER. Sometimes a contraction of Forester : but tliere is an origin at least equally probable, viz : fosterer, one who feeds and has the charge of children instead of their parents. " When a gesithcundman left his land, he was at liberty to take away his Reeve, his Smith, and his child's Fosterer. Laws of Ina, King of Wessex. Thorpe, i. 145. Archajologia, xxxiii. 277.
Surname type: Occupational name
Origin: English
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: England
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: English