The 95 Most Common American Surnames

The United States is a very large and diverse country, where we can find people from very different origins. There is absolutely everything, and it is not surprising because the North American country has always been associated with being a nation of immigrants.

Proof of this is the variety of surnames that we can find there, with mostly European origins but also Asian and Latin American origins.

In this article we will discover What are the 80 most common American surnames currently.

The 80 most common American surnames today

The United States of America is likely the most multiethnic and multiracial place on the planet. Nowadays, a multitude of nationalities, languages ​​and cultures coexist, especially in such cosmopolitan cities as New York, Los Angeles or Miami. This multiculturalism is a reflection of its history, being the place where millions of people have ended up in search of opportunities that they could not get in their countries of origin.

From the founding of the Thirteen Colonies to the current United States, there have been several waves of migration First came the Europeans, mostly English, French and, in some parts, Spanish, who divided up North America at the expense of the Native Americans who already lived there. Later, when the United States had already expanded under the doctrine of Manifest Destiny, immigrants came from all over Europe, especially Scandinavians, Germans, Irish and Italians. In more modern times other Europeans, Latins and Asians have gone.

As a result of the different waves of immigration and the peculiar history of the United States, We cannot say that there are 100% American surnames, since the history and spirit of that country is that of being children of immigrants, descendants of people from all over the world. What we can talk about are the most common surnames in that country, a living reflection of how diverse it is. The surnames below are the 80 most common American surnames according to the 2020 census, with many of them of Anglo-Saxon and Hispanic origin.

1. Smith

English. It is the most common surname not only in the United States but also in the United Kingdom and Australia. Its meaning is metal worker and blacksmith, derived from the Old English “smitan” which means “to strike.”

2.Johnson

English and Scottish. It is a patronymic surname, that is, it originally derived from the name of the father or some ancestor. In this case it means son of John, adding the suffix -son, something like -ez in the Hispanic world.

3.Williams

English and Welsh. Another case of a patronymic surname but of a different style. This means son of William, a name whose origin is Germanic, specifically Willahelm, composed of the elements “willo”, “will or desire” and “hem”, “helmet, protection”.

4.Brown

English, Scottish and Irish. It was originally a nickname for a person who had dark hair or skin, and was also used to give a surname to the thousands of black slaves who lived in the United States.

5. Jones

English and Welsh. It is a patronymic surname, derived from the name Jon, a medieval variant of John.

6. Garcia

Spanish. Here we have the most common Spanish surname in the United States, the result of the great Hispanic immigration to the American giant. It is not certain what its origin is, although it is possibly a surname of Basque origin, coming from “hartz” which means “bear”. Coincidentally, García is the most common first surname in Spain and it is strange to find someone who does not have it in their first 10 surnames.

7.Miller

English, Scottish, French, German and Italian. The origin of Miller has to do with someone who owned or worked in a grain mill

8. Davis

English and Scottish. Another patronymic surname, which means “son of David.”

9. Rodriguez

Spanish. It means “son of Rodrigo”. Rodrigo is a Latinization of the Germanic Hroþareiks, which means “powerful, famous” and includes the elements “hrod”, “fame” and “ric”, “power”.

10. Martinez

Spanish. It means “son of Martin”

11. Hernandez

Spanish. It means “son of Hernando”. Hernando comes from Ferdinand, which in Germanic means “he who dares to travel.”

12. Lopez

Spanish. It means “son of Lope”. Lope comes from the Latin “lupus”, which means “wolf”.

13. Gonzalez

Spanish. It means “son of Gonzalo”. There is the “Gonzales” variant, which is actually the most common form in the United States.

14.Wilson

English and Scottish. It means “son of Will.”

15. Anderson

Swedish, Danish, Norwegian and English. It means “son of Andrew or Anders.”

16. Thomas

English and Welsh. This surname is the transformation of the name “Thomas” into a surname. It is a name from the Aramaic תָּאוֹמָא (Ta’oma) and means “twin”. It is the name of one of the apostles of the New Testament.

17.Taylor

English and French. It is derived from the Old French “tailleur”, which means “tailor”.

18. Moore

English. It comes from medieval English, meaning “open land” or “swamp.”

19.Jackson

English. It means “son of Jack.”

20. Martin

English, Scottish, Irish, French and German. This is the conversion of the name Martin into a surname. Its origin is in the Roman god Mars, deity of war, masculine virility, bravery, violence and passion.

21. Read

English and Irish; Chinese. In reality they are two surnames.

On the one hand we have the Lee of Anglo-Saxon origin, which comes from “Leah” meaning the clarian of a forest or meadow.

On the other hand, we have Lee as a Chinese surname, which appears in China about 25 centuries before Christ and referred to a justice officer and a pear tree.

22. Perez

Spanish. It means “son of Peter” and, in turn, Peter comes from the Latin “petrus”, meaning stone.

23. Thompson

English and Scottish. It means “son of Thom.”

24.White

English, Scottish and Irish. It was originally the nickname for people with very white skin or light hair. It comes from the Old English “hwit” which means “white.”

25. Harris

English and Welsh. It means “son of Harry.”

26. Sanchez

Spanish. It means “son of Sancho”, a name that comes from the Latin Sanctius, meaning “blessed and sacred.”

27.Clark

English and Irish. Clark means “cleric, scribe.” It comes from the Old English “clerec”, used to refer to priests

28. Ramirez

Spanish. It means “son of Ramiro”.

29.Lewis

English. It comes from the medieval name Louis, which in turn comes from the Germanic Ludwig or Chlodovech, a name composed of “hlud”, “famous” and “wig”, “war”.

30.Robinson

English and Jewish. It means “son of Robin.”

31.Walker

English and Scottish. Derived from the Old English “walkere”, which means “one who moves, who walks”.

32. Young

English and Scottish. It comes from the Old English “geong,” meaning “young man,” originally used as a descriptive name to differentiate between father and son.

33. Allen

Scottish and English. It is derived from the name Allan, a name believed to mean “little rock”, “harmony” and “attractiveness”.

34.King

English. It comes from the Old English “cyning”, used for different purposes. It was the nickname for someone who behaved like a king, worked for the monarchy or was related in one way or another to the royal family.

35. Wright

English. It comes from the Old English “wyrtha” which means “worker.” used as a professional name for someone who was a craftsman.

36.Scott

Scottish and English. It was originally the surname given to a person who came from Scotland or who spoke Gaelic.

37. Towers

Spanish and Portuguese. It comes from the Latin “turres”, literally meaning “towers” ​​and was given to the person who lived near this type of buildings.

38. Nguyen

Vietnamese. It is the most common surname in Vietnam and also in the Vietnamese diaspora in the United States

It is believed that about 40% of the Vietnamese population worldwide has this as their first surname, which has variants Won, Ruan and Yuen which would make the percentage even higher. It means “musical instrument” and is related to royal dynasties of the Far East.

39.Hill

English. It is a surname used for those who lived near a hill.

40. Flowers

Spanish. It derives from “floro”, an alteration of the Latin “flos” which means “flower”.

41.Green

English. It is a descriptive surname for someone who used to wear the color green or lived near something with that color, such as a town full of greenery or directly in the countryside.

42. Adams

English and Jewish. It is a patronymic surname of “Adam”, whose origin is “man” in Hebrew associated with the first man according to the Bible.

43.Nelson

Irish. It means “son of Neil.” Neil comes from the Gaelic “Niall”, which is believed to mean “champion”, “cloud”, “passionate” or “eager”, although its actual meaning remains a mystery.

44. Baker

English. It is a surname associated with people who baked, such as bakers.

45. Hall

English, Scottish, German, Irish and Scandinavian. In English it simply means “hallway or main entrance”, and this surname must have been given to someone who lived or worked in the house of some name in the Middle Ages.

46. ​​Rivera

Spanish. It is a topographic surname for a person who lived near a river or bank.

47.Campbell

Scottish and Irish. It is a nickname in Gaelic “cam béul” which means “crooked mouth.”

48.Mitchell

Scottish, Irish and English. He derives from the name Michael which, in turn, derives from the Hebrew מִיכָאֵל Mikha’el meaning “who is like God.”

49. Carter

English. Surname related to a person who drove a car to transport goods. It comes from the Norman French “caretier”.

50. Roberts

Welsh and German. It means “son of Robert.”

51. Gomez

Spanish. It means “son of Gome or Gomo”, in turn, Gome is believed to be a Gothic name of origin in the proto-Germanic “gumaz” cognate with “homo”, meaning “man” in Latin.

52. Phillips

Welsh. It means “son of Phillip.” Phillip or Felipe comes from the Greek Φιλιππος (Philippos) meaning “friend of horses”.

53. Evans

Welsh. It means “son of Evan.”

54. Turner

English and Welsh. It was a name given to those who dedicated themselves to working with wheels, such as potters.

55. Diaz

Spanish and Portuguese. It means “son of Diego.”

56. Parker

English. It comes from Old English and means “guardian of the report” or “ranger.”

57. Cross

Spanish and Portuguese. It comes from “crux” which in Latin literally means “cross” and refers to the same cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified.

58. Edwards

English. It means “son of Edward.”

59. Collins

Irish and english. It means “son of Colin”.

60. Kings

Spanish. It is a very old surname in Spain, having its origin in old Castilla, Galicia and Asturias. It is a surname that was originally given to those who had a relationship with kings or worked for the high nobility.

61. Stewart

Scottish and English. It is a surname that arose from the occupation of an administrative officer of a farm. It comes from the Old English “stige” meaning “room” and “weard” meaning “guardian.”

62. Morris

English, Irish and Scottish. It is the patronymic surname of Maurice, Mauricio in English.

63. Morales

Spanish and Portuguese. It is known that this surname comes from Cantabria and is today widespread not only in the rest of Spain and Latin America, but also the United States and Italy. It is considered to be a topographical surname, referring to someone who comes from any town called Morales.

64. Murphy

Irish. Murphy is the English form of the Irish Gaelic expression “Ó Murchadha” which means “descendant of the Murchadh”.

65. Cook

English. It is derived from the Old English “coc,” meaning “cook.”

66. Rogers

English. It comes from the name Roger which, in turn, means “famous spear”. Its origin is in the Germanic name Hrōþigēraz composed of “hrod”, “fame” and “ger”, “spear”.

67. Gutierrez

Spanish. It means “son of Gutierre”. Originally, Gutierre came from Gualtierre, an old Spanish version of the Germanic name Walter.

68. Ortiz

Spanish. It means “son of Orti”. The origin of the name Orti is disputed, with some considering that it could come from the Basque or the Latin word “fortis” or “fortunius” meaning “brave” or “fortunate” respectively.

69. Morgan

Welsh. Morgan is a name that means “circle in the sea” in the Welsh language.

70. Cooper

English and Dutch. In medieval English this surname means “barrel maker.”

71. Peterson

English, Scottish and German. It means “son of Peter.”

72. Bailey

Scottish, English and French. It comes from the medieval English “baili” which means “sheriff.”

73. Reed

English and Scottish. It is a variant of the Scottish surname “Read”, the name by which it is believed that redheads were called.

74. Kelly

Irish. It is the English form of the Irish “Ceallaigh” which means “descendant of Ceallach”

75. Howard

English and German. It is a surname that derives from the name Hughard, meaning “brave heart.”

76. Ramos

Spanish and Portuguese. It is a surname of toponymic origin, being the plural of “bouquet” and referring to someone who lived in a place where there were many flowers or who was dedicated to a profession in which they had to manipulate flora.

77. Kim

Korean. This surname is the most common in the Korean population, both those residing in both Koreas and their diaspora It is believed to be related to ancient dynasties of Korean kings, in addition to meaning “gold” in Korean.

78. Cox

English, French, Welsh and Irish. It is believed to derive from both “coch” and “cocc”, meaning “from the hill”.

79. Ward

English and Irish. It comes from Old English and it is believed that it could mean either “guard” or “swamp.”

80. Richardson

English. It means “son of Richard.”

81. Watson

This surname of Anglo-Scottish origins means “son of Walter.”

82. Brooks

Etymologically, it means “next to the stream.”

83. Chavez

Many people have the Portuguese version of this surname, “Chaves”, although there are also many cases in which the last sound is changed simply to conform to English phonetics.

84. Wood

As is known, this surname refers to wood, possibly because it began to be carried by families of carpenters or lumberjacks

85. James

This is a very common surname in all English-speaking countries, but it originated in Wales.

86. Bennet

It has Norman origins, but derives from the Latin name Benedictus.

87. Gray

This old surname It has its origins in the lands of the Kingdom of Northumbria

88. Mendoza

This surname is very common both in Spain and in many Latin American countries.

89. Ruiz

The last name comes from “Ruy”, a short way of saying “Rodrigo”.

90. Hughes

The origins of this surname are uncertain, and may derive from one of the Celtic languages ​​or from the French “Hue”.

91. Price

A surname of Welsh origin, derived from “ap Rhys”, meaning “son of Rhys”.

92. Alvarez

This common Spanish surname is also among the most common surnames in the United States, and means “son of Alvaro.”

93. Castle

This Spanish surname refers to the famous medieval buildings.

94. Sanders

An Anglo-Norman surname derives from the word “Saunder”, which means “son of Alexander”

95. Patel

One of the most common surnames in India is present in this list that reflects the ethnic diversity of the United States.