An analysis of nationwide phone book listings has revealed the most common last name in each US state, offering a new look at regional differences in family history.
Last names often carry the story of a person’s family history and ethnic roots, and their regional popularity reveal states’ immigratory patterns.
Ancestry.com used records from the white pages to determine which names are most prevalent in each state, and discovered some fascinating regional trends.
The genealogy website found that Smith is by far the most common last name in the US, ranking first across 40 states and within the top three for another five states.
The name Smith harkens back to the ancient Anglo-Saxon and medieval English periods.
Other popular names that made it onto the map include Johnson, Williams, Lee, Garcia and Martinez.
And the Southwest has the more last-name variety than any other US region.
States with large Latino populations, like Texas, California, New Mexico, and Arizona commonly have families with last names like Garcia, Hernandez, Martinez and Chavez.
Ancestry.com used records from the white pages to determine which names are most prevalent in each state, and discovered some fascinating regional trends
America’s most popular last name, Smith, was once an occupational surname given to those who worked in metalsmithing, similar to Baker, Fisher or Glover.
The name originated in England, arriving in the US when the first wave of European settlers made landfall in the early 17th century.
This name was so widely used in Europe – and ultimately the US – mainly because every town once needed a blacksmith to make tools, armor, household objects and weapons, according to GeneaologyExplained.com
As towns grew, so did the demand for blacksmiths, which would explain why so many families adopted the last name Smith.
Blacksmiths remained an essential part of local economies for centuries, allowing the name’s prevalence to persist for nearly 1,000 years.
After the English arrived in America, more Smiths came during later periods of Irish and Scottish immigration.
By the 19th and 20th centuries, it was so common that German immigrants to the US began anglicizing their last names, such as Schmitz or Schmidt, into Smith, according to familytree.com.
Native Americans who wanted a more English-sounding last name also frequently adopted the name Smith.
Smith is by far the most common last name in the US. Even stars like Will Smith bear this name
And because many white Americans who owned slaves had the last name Smith, it was common for African American slaves to take on this name once they were freed.
Ancestry.com’s analysis shows that this name’s widespread history is still reflected in the US today.
The 40 states where Smith is the most common last name span multiple regions, including the East Coast, Middle America and the Northwest.
Johnson is the next most common name nationwide, ranking first in five states: North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Nebraska.
It’s notable that all of these states are in the Midwest. This name, which literally means ‘son of John,’ established a strong presence in the eastern half of the country during the 1800s, according to Ancestry.com.
In the 1840s, families with the name Johnson were concentrated in New York and Ohio, with some living elsewhere throughout the East and Midwest. By the 1880s, the name was widespread across these regions.
Like Smith, this name originally arrived in the US through European settlers, and has been prevalent for centuries.
Williams is the third most common last name in the US, ranking first in Louisiana.
This name also hails from Europe, brought to the US by settlers from southern England and Wales who arrived in waves from the 17th century onward, according to FamilySearch.org.
One such settler was Roger Williams, an English puritan minister who founded the state of Rhode Island.
He arrived in Massachusetts in 1603, but was later banished from the colony for criticizing the Puritan government. He fled to what is now known as Rhode Island and established the city of Providence.
There are some regional differences in last names that are not reflected on this map, according to Ancestry.com.
For example, families in the Northwest are more likely to be named Anderson than Brown, which is slightly more common on the East Coast.
The three most common last names in Hawaii – Lee, Wong and Kim – do not appear in the top three for any other states in the country.
These names primarily hail from Asian countries such as China and Korea. According to 2020 Census Bureau data, more than half of Hawaii’s population is now Asian or partly Asian.
That’s primarily due to an influx of Chinese and Korean workers that followed the Aloha state’s annexation at the turn of the 19th century.
The most common last names in California included two that did not make the top three in any other state : Hernandez and Lopez.
And the name Sullivan made it into the top three for only one state: Massachusetts.