The 250 Most Common Last Names in the US

Ancestry offers a free surname research tool that shows the meaning, origins and geographical distribution of last names in the US. Because the tool pulls from historical census data, it even shows occupations that were common to people who shared a family name. You can find it here.

Here is some of the information it offers for the last name Smith:

Smith is the most common surname in the US. 2,442,997 people reported this as being their last name in the 2010 census.

The 10 most common last names in the US are Smith, Johnson, Williams, Brown, Jones, Garcia, Miller, Davis, Rodriguez and Martinez.

Historically, a person with the last name Smith was a blacksmith or some type of metal worker. Because this occupation was incredibly important and common throughout history, many people passed this name on to their children.

Why is Johnson so common?

Because it means John’s son, and John (or Jon) are very common first names, this is popular last name in the US and around the world. There are many variations of the name Johnson with origins mainly from Scandinavia and Western Europe. 

Last names originally come from many sources and, because they are not commonly changed, are usually passed down for many generations (with spelling variations). Most are patronymic like Jonson (son of Jon), occupational such as Smith (likely a blacksmith), geographical (toponymic) such as Dupont (lived near a bridge) or descriptive like the last name Hertz (stout of heart). Some are even matronymic like Jónsdóttir (Jon’s daughter). Read more about that here. 

While a surname can’t provide a complete picture of your family’s past, it is often a good starting point. Simply knowing how common a name is can even help to prepare you for research. Making sense of where the names in your family tree come from is a fun way to start to understand where your ancestors may have lived, what they did for a living and even provide little details you’ll never find in old records.

Does it matter how common my last name is?

At the end of the day, not really. But it’s a fun bit of information that can help you feel connected to others and even prepare you to begin your family history research. Last name popularity can be deceiving, you might think you have a common or uncommon one on your hands and be completely incorrect. Being prepared is important, and you won’t know until you do some research. 

A very popular name, for instance, may make it hard to figure out which ancestors are yours when digging through the seemingly endless records with that surname. Especially if your ancestor also had a frequently used first name.

Knowing this information ahead of time can allow you to make adjustments to your genealogy research efforts. You can take the time to avoid potential errors in your tree by gathering more details about a person (like specific locations and estimated birth year) before searching birth certificates for a Michael Williams, for instance. You don’t want to end up with the wrong one. 

For more help with your surname research read What a Surname Can REALLY Tell You About Your Family’s Past.

For help for using first names in genealogy research, read Finding the Hidden Clues in First Names: A Starter Guide.

By Melanie Mayo, Family History Daily Editor