The title of Duke of La Force, Peer of France, in the peerage of France, was created in 1637 for members of the Caumont family, who were lords of the village of La Force in the Dordogne region.
The family originated as Lord of Caumont (Seigneur de Caumont) in the early 11th century and were subsequently raised in rank over the following centuries.
The family is Protestant : the father (François de Caumont) and brother of the first Duke were killed in the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre (1572). Afterwards the family served the king loyally on the battlefield, but remained Protestant.
Armand de Caumont died in [1755] on the battlefield at Cuneo on 30 September, at the age of 23. Afterwards, the dukedom passed to a distant relative of the main line, Bertrand (1724–1773), then to his son, Louis-Joseph Nompar (1768–1838) and to his descendants. In 1909, the great-great grandson of Louis-Joseph, Armand-Joseph (1878–1961), took the title of Duke of La Force. There are La Force and LeForce families in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada and Portugal descendant of the French family.