Most Common Last Names in America

Surnames or last names form an integral part of a person's identity. Earlier, surnames were an indicator of a person's occupation or place of origin. Although, this tradition has been long forgotten, the newer generations still carry their family's last name. These modern successors might have moved miles away from their place of origin and may have nothing to do with the traditional occupation, but they still flaunt their lineage by carrying a century old surname. Surnames are also indicative of an immigration pattern of a country. Some immigrants anglicize their last names to sound like native surnames. There are thousands of different surnames in the United States. Yet, everyday you might find at least one person with same last name as yours. Why? Your surname may be amongst the most common last names in America! Want to find out? Go through this list of top 100 common surnames in the US.

Top 10 Most Common Last Names in the United States

The following data is derived from the findings of U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division, Population Analysis & Evaluation Staff, based on the 1990 census.

1. Smith
A whopping 2,501,922 people are registered under this last name. England, Australia, Scotland, Canada are some other countries where Smiths top the list of common names. So, if you are a Smith, be prepared to meet several other Smiths every day.

2. Johnson
Johnson is another common last name which surpasses the two million mark. Some of the Swedish immigrants by the name of Johansson have anglicized their last name to Johnson, making it the second most common last name in US.

3. Williams
Williams is a more common last name in African Americans. Currently, there are 1,738,413 people registered under this name.

4 & 5. Jones/ Brown
Number 4 and 5 slots are occupied by these two last names. Although, the population for each of the surnames is the same, number 4 slot officially goes to Jones, followed by Brown at number 5.

6. Davis
This is yet another popular common name shared by 1,193,760 people in the United States.

7. Miller
The rise of this surname as a common last name can also be attributed to the fact that many Germans by the name Muller chose to anglicize their last name to Miller. There are around 1,193,760 Millers in America.

8. Wilson
It would be a surprise if this last name didn't make it to top 10, considering the number of times you come across people with this surname. There are 843,093 people registered under this surname.

9. Moore
This yet another popular name which has also made it to the list of 10 most common surnames. There are 775,944 people with Moore as their last name.

10. Taylor
Last but not the least, Taylor rounds up the list of popular surnames with a population of 773,547, just below that of Moore's.

List of Most Common Surnames in America

Rank Last Name Population 11 Anderson 857,000 12 Thomas 857,000 13 Jackson 854,200 14 White 768,800 15 Harris 757,800 16 Martin 752,300 17 Thompson 741,300 18 Garcia 699,900 19 Martinez 644,800 20 Robinson 642,100 21 Clark 636,500 22 Rodriguez 631,000 23 Lewis 622,800 24 Lee 606,200 25 Walker 603,500 26 Hall 551,100 27 Allen 548,400 28 Young 531,800 29 Hernandez 529,100 30 King 523,600 31 Wright 520,800 32 Lopez 515,300 33 Hill 515,300 34 Scott 509,800 35 Green 504,300 36 Adams 479,500 37 Baker 471,200 38 Gonzalez 457,400 39 Nelson 446,400 40 Carter 446,400 41 Mitchell 440,900 42 Perez 427,100 43 Roberts 421,600 44 Turner 418,900 45 Phillips 410,600 46 Campbell 410,600 47 Parker 402,300 48 Evans 388,500 49 Edwards 377,500 50 Collins 369,300 51 Stewart 366,500 52 Sanchez 358,200 53 Morris 344,500 54 Rogers 338,900 55 Reed 336,200

Rank Last Name Population 56 Cook 330,700 57 Morgan 325,200 58 Bell 322,400 59 Murphy 322,400 60 Bailey 316,900 61 Rivera 311,400 62 Cooper 311,400 63 Richardson 308,600 64 Cox 303,100 65 Howard 303,100 66 Ward 297,600 67 Torres 297,600 68 Peterson 294,900 69 Gray 292,100 70 Ramirez 289,300 71 James 289,300 72 Watson 283,800 73 Brooks 283,800 74 Kelly 281,100 75 Sanders 275,600 76 Price 272,800 77 Bennett 272,800 78 Wood 270,100 79 Barnes 267,300 80 Ross 264,500 81 Henderson 261,800 82 Coleman 261,800 83 Jenkins 261,800 84 Perry 259,000 85 Powell 256,300 86 Long 253,500 87 Patterson 253,500 88 Hughes 253,500 89 Flores 253,500 90 Washington 253,500 91 Butler 250,800 92 Simmons 250,800 93 Foster 250,800 94 Gonzales 239,700 95 Bryant 239,700 96 Alexander 234,200 97 Russell 234,200 98 Griffin 231,500 99 Diaz 231,500 100 Hayes 228,700

Most common last names in America are bound to change as some families expand at a higher rate than others. Remarkably, Smith has held its number one position since 1990. Hope you found this article interesting.