How many Smiths do you know in your life?

Chances are, you probably know at least one, as it turns out that Smith is the most common last name in the country according to new research with over 2.4 million Americans having this last name.

That’s definitely a lot of Smith’s and we should all spare a thought for anyone trying to trace back that family tree!

It may not be surprising seeing that Smith tops the most common last name in America list seeing as it’s been a common name for so long now, but what about other last names? And which states are they the most popular in?

Well it turns out that after Smith, the most common last names in America are Johnson with just over 1.9million Americans having this name, Williams with 1.6 million, and finally, Brown and Jones with 1.4 million.

Names By State

Looking at names across the states, interestingly, Smiths dominate the Eastern states whereas Johnsons are more prevalent across the northern states, randomly though, it looks like Johnsons seem to like the cold with Johnson being the most common last name in Alaska.

The other most common names in America? It seems that Lee is the most common last name in California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York. Garcia appears the most in Texas, and Martinez in New Mexico. 

When it comes to heritage, it may be of no surprise that the majority of the most common names in America have English roots with 18 out of the 25 most common last names originating from across the pond. Spanish roots dominate the remaining 7 last names in the top 25 list with these names featuring frequently in the southwestern states. 

The Top 25 Most Common Last Names In America

  1. Smith
  2. Johnson
  3. Williams
  4. Brown
  5. Jones
  6. Garcia
  7. Miller
  8. Davis
  9. Rodriguez
  10. Martinez
  11. Hernandez
  12. Lopez
  13. Gonzalez
  14. Wilson
  15. Anderson
  16. Thomas
  17. Taylor
  18. Moore
  19. Jackson
  20. Martin
  21. Lee
  22. Perez
  23. Thompson
  24. White
  25. Harris