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United States > U.S. Statistics > Miscellaneous

Most Common Last Names

Although Smith remains the most common surname in America, for the first time two Hispanic names, Garcia and Rodriguez, have joined Smith, Johnson, and Miller in the top ten most common surnames in the nation. In addition, the latest Census Bureau study on surnames in the United States indicates that the number of Hispanic surnames in the top 25 doubled from 1990 to 2000. Garcia jumped from number 18 to number 8 on the list, and Rodriguez moved from 22 to 9. The Hispanic population living in America has grown by 58% since the 1990 census.

The surname Lee also made the top 25 for the first time—ranked number 22 in the country—indicating a rise in the Asian American population. Out of the six million surnames reported in the Census Bureau study, “65% (or 4 million) of all captured last names were held by just one person, and about 80% (or 5 million) were held by no more than 4 people,” demonstrating the United States’ diverse culture.

Visit Family Name Search to discover the meanings and origins of last names.

Rank	Name	Occurrences
1.	Smith	2,376,206
2.	Johnson	1,857,160
3.	Williams	1,534,042
4.	Brown	1,380,145
5.	Jones	1,362,755
6.	Miller	1,127,803
7.	Davis	1,072,335
8.	Garcia	858,289
9.	Rodriguez	804,240
10.	Wilson	783,051
11.	Martinez	775,072
12.	Anderson	762,394
13.	Taylor	720,370
14.	Thomas	710,696
15.	Hernandez	706,372
16.	Moore	698,671
17.	Martin	672,711
18.	Jackson	666,125
19.	Thompson	644,368
20.	White	639,515
21.	Lopez	621,536
22.	Lee	605,860
23.	Gonzalez	597,718
24.	Harris	593,542
25.	Clark	548,369
26.	Lewis	509,930
27.	Robinson	503,028
28.	Walker	501,307
29.	Perez	488,521
30.	Hall	473,568

NOTE: Based on 2000 Census data. Numbers are rounded.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Web: www.census.gov/genealogy/www/freqnames2k.html .

Most Common Last Names in the U.S., 1990

Miscellaneous

More on Most Common Last Names from Infoplease:

Most Common Last Names - Find the most common last names in the United States, according to the 2000 census.
Name Meanings, Origins, and Popularity - Find the meanings, origins, and popularity of names from planet to pet names, hurricane to Spanish place names.
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