Some examples of this are the popular Swedish name Johansson which was frequently changed to Johnson, and the German Mller which became Miller. The surnames that saw the largest jump in volume during that time period are Spanish in origin and include the names Hernandez, Ramirez, and Rodriguez. 1977 For example, Moretti, a traditional Italian name is now common in the US and is not tied to any race. While most states hold "Smith" as their most frequently appearing surname, the study also includes second and third place runner-ups, like "Johnson" and "Miller." Inspirations for a second name, or surname, were generally inspired by the father's name, where a person lived, their occupation, or even a nickname. It, unfortunately, gets even more sinister than that, as there was a period of time when Americans stole children from Native American tribes and forced them to go through Catholic school. Most common last names: Smith, Johnson and Williams. During the 2000 U.S. census, the top one hundred surnames in the U.S. were:[10][11][12]. 1985 What's in a Name? - Census.gov According toWorldNames public profiler, the Washington surname is most popular in the United States, especially in the District of Columbia, followed by Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Alabama. Email nominations to coversprogram@sensis.com.au; fax 03 8416 6779 or post to A Helping Hand, The Aussie Way, Locked Bag 6005, Richmond VIC 3121. Before 3,000 years ago, no one even used surnames, rather, everyone just went by their first name. Map Shows the Most Distinctive Last Names in Every State The name Smith was likely derived from blacksmiths. 2018 Roberts Occurrences per 100,000 people: 127.7 49. Below are 25 last names that Forebears.com says are the next most common in Washington State. Most common last names: Johnson, Smith and Anderson. Most common last names:Johnson, Anderson and Smith. The amount by which the blue bars extend past the yellow horizontal lines determines This first happened during the mass immigration to the country in the late 1800s and early 1900s. 433.29 in every 100,000 Guerin: Surname Meaning and Family History, GARFIELD - Surname Meaning and Family History, SCHMITZ Surname Meaning and Family History, DURAND - Surname Meaning and Family History, DistantCousin.com - WASHINGTON Genealogy & Family History, The Washington Genealogy and Family Tree Page, Certificate in Genealogical Research, Boston University, Kenny Washington -one of two Black athletes to reintegrate the NFL in 1946, Looking for the meaning of a given name? The state with the biggest negative difference is American Surnames. What the most common surnames in the United States have in common is that they all have English, Scottish, Irish or Welsh roots because people from those countries were among the first Europeans to settle in North America. people than projected. There's much more variety in the American Southwest. 2001 1968 The government asked all citizens to take their father's first name in order to track who was paying taxes. 1966 ), "Smith" is the most common name in the United States. WASHINGTON Surname Origin and Last Name Meaning - ThoughtCo Explore the most common surnames in Washington. Washington. Besides just naming people after their parents, back in the Middle Ages, many people were given names of places. Most common last names:Smith, Williams and Johnson. Therefore many people took to adopting the surname of their profession. Most common last names:Smith, Williams and Brown. [2], Most common surnames in Costa Rica as of 2007. Well, tracing a surname in America is different than tracing it in Europe. Many did this to fit in with society. To find out more information about last names of different lengths you can use the following links: To find all of the most popular last names by starting letter, you can choose a letter from the following list: If you want to get even more specific, we also have pages that will let you find last names beginning with (or any other letter) based on a specific ancestry. It's your actions, how you behave What you stand for. Take a look at the map or our list below and see the most common last names. Common Asian and Pacific Islander Surnames, Common American Indian/Alaskan Native Surnames. Over the generations, intermarriage and assimilation have brought these foreign-sounding names to be common in society. This is why many Chinese people have a first name and a surname that are both first names. 2017 2014 The two surnames ranked as the most popular in the state, with Smith taking out the top spot closely followed by Jones and then Brown. A person named Robertson may well be the descendant of a person once known as "Robert's son," and Mr. Appleby could have lived near an apple orchard or tended to one. Most common last names:Smith, Johnson and Anderson. The Washington place name itself is derived from the Old English personal name wassa, which means "hunting," combined with the locative suffix -thn, meaning "settlement, homestead.". However, the growing Hispanic population has pushed surnames . She teaches at the Genealogical Institute of Pittsburgh and the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy. Most Popular Surnames in the United States - Census.gov Cousin Calculator Perpetual Calendar. Wikimedia commons Show More Show Less. But over time, humans have developed shortcuts in language which shortened these names to just David Lake or David Marsh.. Most common last names per state, according to Ancestry | The 2004 Most common last names: Smith, Johnson and Anderson. The most popular full name is James WASHINGTON. There's a chance your surname still hasn't popped up even with all this information. 1962 To help you understand the above table, below is a description of each column and what it represents. Instead, they had multi-part first names. According to U.S. Census data, those names are the most prevalent in America. 4. 1984 A study by genealogy tracking service Ancestry.com recently revealed the most common last names in California and the U.S. Names. List of most common surnames in North America - Wikipedia The most famous city with this name is Washington DC, the capital of the country. Most common last names:Smith,Johnsonand Brown. During the Middle Ages, if they couldn't find a locative or occupational last name for you, you were given a nickname. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate. Most Common Last Names in the US - 24/7 Wall St. While locative and patronymic last names worked for smaller communities and members of the nobility, it was difficult to give surnames to people in places like London which already had about 200,000 people by the year 1600. See the most popular last names in each state, including Texas. Most common last names:Lee, Wong and Kim. But if they decided to change their name later, due to difficulty finding a job, this would not be recorded and no one would know the difference because they were new to the country. 1993 Jensen is the most common distinctive last name in six states . What's the Most Common Surname By State? - Ancestry Blog in the general population of the US. Forebears, a genealogy website that organizes a library of names from around the world geographically, used records from 2014 to determine the most common names in Boise. Most Common Surnames in Washington, With Meanings - Forebears 1973 2000 The distribution of U.S. surnames reflects the history of immigration into the country. These slaves were frequently named after their owners or the physical characteristics they exhibited. Other names like Knight, Prince, Baker, Farmer, and Tanner all came about due to this naming tactic. It's possible a name like 'Cooke' could be changed to 'Cook' which although they sound the same, could make tracing the genealogy of your surname very difficult. SMITH families in WA are literally keeping up with the Joneses, according to the new White Pages Residential. (where the blue bar extends past the yellow vertical line) positive difference between the actual state population and the On the other hand, 13.97% of Americans have a surname which occurs fewer than 100 times in the entire population. District of Columbia is the state with the biggest [5], Most common surnames in Guatemala as of 2015. searchable data base from 1990 and 2000 U.S. Census, on PBS.org, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_most_common_surnames_in_North_America&oldid=1140339504, CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from August 2019, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 19 February 2023, at 17:14. The history of your name This naming tactic also created a patronymic tactic of its own, as some people took the suffix of son and added it to their occupation. Top 100 names for a selected State and year of birth Select a State: Select birth year: Top 5 names by State for a selected year of birth 5.2% White, Idaho This southeastern state's top three most common last names are also the top three in the entire country. Them: You'll have to retake it and do better. Most common last names:Smith, Johnson and Miller. Additionally, the Native Americans, who lived in the US long before the Americans, never had surnames. 87.5 percent of people with the name WASHINGTON identified themselves as Black. William Gittins WillGitt Update: August 17th, 2022 20:20 EDT The length of the bars represents an estimate of the the number of people with the name expressed as All of the surnames listed are of Spanish origin.[9]. These last names are less common in the US, but can still be found in communities that can trace their ancestry to the Nordic Countries. 0.2% Asian or Pacific Islander, Powell, Kimberly. According to the above table, from the 2000 U.S. census, 17.11% of Americans have a surname among the top 100. 2002 20 Most Common Surnames in Washington Quiz - By Danaceo_G 1983 In this section of the site we have data on the most common last names in the United States. 2003 Other last names derived from the kind of work people did include Archer, Baker, Brewer, Butcher, Cook, Dyer, Farmer, Judge, Mason, Page, Potter, Taylor and Weaver. Occupational last names make up some of the most common surnames found in the United States today, most notably Smith, which has been the most common last name in the USA for decades. See the most common surnames by state above. Because these border changes and immigrations happened decades and centuries ago, surnames in the United States are no longer limited to just one race. As it turns out, Smith and Johnson are the two mostcommon last names in the United States of America. Mass immigration also brought many non-English last names to America. On the other hand, 13.97% of Americans have a surname which occurs fewer than 100 times in the entire population. Garcia leapfrogged from number 18 to number eight, while Rodriguez went up from 22 to nine. This quiz has not been published by Sporcle, Open a modal to take you to registration information, Button that open a modal to initiate a challenge. Did you find your name on the list? WASHINGTON is 99th, this rank was reached in the states of An Ancestry study has found the "most common surnames by state.". Thus the place name Washington could have been used to describe a town located on a wash or creek. If your family immigrated to the US through either Angel Island or Ellis Island, they were required to report their name for the ship manifest. 89.9% Black, 1974 Alternate Surname Spellings:WASHINTON, WASSINGTON, WASSINGETON. Claremont has the highest concentration of Smiths in WA. Keep reading to see if your name made the top five -- or to find inspiration for naming your baby. Much of this has to do with where surnames came from and their meanings. Rounding out the top 3 is the surname "Williams.". "Though people who try and find us in the phone directory complain bitterly.". The state with the most people named Powell, Kimberly. We got a kick out of our shared name. Garcia and Martinez represent the rapid growth of several Hispanic communities in the United States. Those Smith, Johnson, and Anderson boys kept themselves busy. Therefore a last name could be missing a letter or two, or have an additional letter. Most common last names:Johnson, Anderson and Nelson. Get email alerts based on your topic preferences like news releases, job openings, emergency updates and more! Texas where Anderson dropped off the list in Oregon, apparently out-of-steam. All figures are for the 2000 United States census, except for the 1990 Rank column which is for the 1990 United States census. Me: No, I mean I neversigned up forthat class. ). Outside of the U.S., the largest numbers of individuals as a percentage of the total population are found in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom (most particularly in England). The surnames that saw the largest jump in volume during that time period are Spanish in origin and include the names Hernandez, Ramirez, and Rodriguez. [3], Most common surnames in El Salvador as of 2005. 1969 There is little overlap among the six lists, highlighting the degree to which surnames vary among racial and ethnic groups in the United States. These were the ones that showed up the most! Texas, California, New Mexico, and Arizona have large Latino populations and a variety of names such as Garcia, Hernandez, Martinez, and Chavez. Check out First Name Meanings. have this name. Most common last names:Johnson, Smith and Miller. So if your dad was named John Tailor, and was a clothing tailor, it made sense for his son to be Jonathon Tailor. Highest percentile rank of any state for this name is 1997 "WASHINGTON Last Name Meaning and Origin." There were a few changes to this year's top 20, with Nguyen and Wright entering the chart and last year's stalwarts King and Hall dropping off the list. These figures should be considered only as a rough estimate. 1. Find out what the most common American Indian and Alaskan Native last names are in the United States. The race and Hispanic origin distribution of the people with the name 2015 Smith, Johnson, Williams, Brown and Jones were the most common last names, according to a Census Bureau analysis of the 2010 Census. 1970 estimated population of 124,501. The graphics show the top 15 most popular surnames and those with the largest increase and rank. And it really didn't cause the confusion you might expect, until I got a poor grade on my report card For a class I didn't take. Johnson is the third most common, Williams is the second most common, and Smith. Because surnames were developed by several different cultures concurrently, there is no one answer to this question. 2006 Most Common Last Names In United States Forebears knows about 5,095,698 unique surnames in United States and there are 63 people per name. Map Shows the Most Popular Last Name in Each State - Wide Open Country Find out what the 5,000 most common last names and the race/ethnicity breakdown of those names in the United States. . But there are still regional differences.