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Velvet Digest

What are the most common British surnames?

Author

Emily Wilson

Updated on May 18, 2026

The most common surnames in Britain and Ireland revealed
  • Smith (400,000 in the 1881 census, 500,000 today)
  • Jones (300,000 in 1881, 400,000 now.
  • Williams (200,000 in 1881, 300,000 now)
  • Brown (200,000 in 1881, more than 250,000 now)
  • Taylor (200,000 in 1881, more than 250,000 now)
  • Johnson (more than 100,000 in 1881, more than 150,000 now)

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Also question is, what are the most common British last names?

The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland features the most common surnames and details about their origins. Smith, Jones, Williams, Brown and Taylor are among the most common names, while names including Farah, Twelvetrees and Li are amongst the 8,000 family names explained for the first time.

One may also ask, what are the most common surnames? And the most common surnames in the US are roughly as follows:

  • Smith — 3.0 million.
  • Johnson — 2.3 million.
  • Williams — 1.9 million.
  • Brown — 1.7 million.
  • Jones — 1.7 million.
  • Miller — 1.4 million.
  • Davis — 1.4 million.
  • Wilson — 1.0 million.

Similarly, what is the most common surname in the UK 2019?

Here are the most common 20 surnames in the UK

  • Smith.
  • Jones.
  • Taylor.
  • Williams.
  • Brown.
  • Davies.
  • Evans.
  • Wilson.

How common is surname UK?

It found 80% of the most common surnames were native to the UK and Ireland, among them: Smith (more than 400,000 bearers according to the 1881 census, compared with 500,000 today) Jones (more than 300,000 in 1881; currently 400,000) Williams (just over 200,000 in 1881, nearly 300,000 now)

Related Question Answers

What is the oldest surname in England?

Lord Devon is of the family of Courtenay, said by Gibbon to bear the oldest surname in Europe. According to 'The Teutonic Name-system, Applied to the Family Names of France, England and Germany' by Robert Ferguson — January 1, 1864, the oldest surname on record is HATT. There is a document quoted from the MSS.

What are some cool last names?

50 Cool Last Names
  • 1} Beckett | Bee cottage ✰
  • 2} Abernathy | Mouth of the river Nethy ✰
  • 3} Castle | Palace ✰
  • 4} Fitzpatrick | A Follower.
  • 5} Grimes | Fierce one ✰
  • 6} Novak | New man ✰
  • 7} Price | Son of Rhys.
  • 8} McBride | Son of the servant of Brighid ✰

How common is last name?

There were 162,253 last names recorded 100 times or more by the U.S. Census Bureau during their latest count in 2010. You can search through this database to see if your name is among them. The Census says that about 6.3 million surnames were recorded in 2010, with about 62 percent of them reported just once.

Is everyone with the same surname related?

Family names (also known as surnames) provide an obvious clue to a person's origin. And yet, as any genealogist can tell you, surnames can be difficult to work with and research into surnames often yield unexpected surprises. In particular, two people with the same surname do not necessarily share a common ancestor.

What is the rarest name in the world?

We've put together a list of 30 of the rarest baby names that you need to hear!
  • 8 Rosalind.
  • 7 Indigo.
  • 6 Shepherd.
  • 5 Georgiana.
  • 4 Chester.
  • 3 Indra.
  • 2 Baxter.
  • 1 Pax.

What are British last names?

Popular English (British) Last Names Or Surnames
  • Adams. It is derived from Adam, which means a 'Man' in Hebrew.
  • Allen. Derived from 'Alan' this last name was first used somewhere in the 6th Century.
  • Anderson. Anderson refers to 'Son of Andrew'.
  • Armstrong. This surname originated from the Scottish borders.
  • Atkinson.
  • Bailey.
  • Baker.
  • Ball.

What are good British names?

Top 10 baby names for boys and girls in England and Wales
  • Oliver - 6,259.
  • Harry - 5,031.
  • George - 4,929.
  • Noah - 4,273.
  • Jack - 4,190.
  • Jacob - 3,968.
  • Leo - 3,781.
  • Oscar - 3,739.

What is my surname?

Your surname is your family name. It is also called your “last name.” When filling out applications, type your surname as it appears on your passport, travel or identity document.

What is the number 1 surname in the world?

The most common surname in the world is Wang—a patronymic Chinese name that means “king” in Mandarin. Around 76 million people in the world bear the name, with the next most common being the Indian surname Devi, which 69 million people share.

Where do British surnames come from?

Surnames were originally introduced into England by the Normans in 1066, and the practice began to spread. Initially, surnames were fluid and changed from generation to generation, or even as a person changed his job - "John Blacksmith" may have become "John Farrier" as his trade developed.

How do you pronounce Nguyen?

"Nguy?n is the most common Vietnamese family name. Outside of Vietnam, the surname is commonly rendered without diacritics as Nguyen. Vietnamese pronunciation is northern [ŋʷǐˀ?n] and southern [ŋʷĩ?ŋ] ; in English it is commonly /ˈw?n/ "win"." - from Wikipedia .

What is the most common full name in the UK?

Baby names: Hunter and Aurora join top 100. Hunter and Aurora have joined the top 100 names for baby boys and girls in England and Wales, according to official statistics. Oliver and Olivia remain the most popular names, positions they have held since 2013 and 2016 respectively.

What are the 7 types of English surnames?

There are 7 types of British surnames. Which one do you have?
  • Place name surnames. Some of these surnames might be quite obvious - such as London, Lincoln or Derby - but others may be names of places that no loner exist.
  • Characteristic surnames.
  • Occupation surnames.
  • Geographical surnames.
  • Patronage surnames.
  • Patronymic or matronymic.
  • Estate surnames.

What is the most common surname in Scotland?

Smith, Brown and Wilson are the three most common surnames in Scotland, according to a new report.
  • Smith.
  • Brown.
  • Wilson.
  • Campbell.
  • Stewart.
  • Thomson.
  • Robertson.
  • Anderson.

What's the whitest last name?

Most common white last names (Non-Hispanic)
Name Total general population rank % white in genpop 2010
MILLER 7 84.11
WEST 125 75.48
MARTIN 20 74.8
THOMAS 16 52.63

What is the blackest last name?

Washington: The 'blackest name' in America. The 2000 U.S. Census counted 163,036 people with the surname Washington. Ninety percent of them were African-American, a far higher black percentage than for any other common name.

What is the rarest last name?

According to MyHeritage's blog, “endangered” last names with fewer than 20 contemporary “bearers” include:
  • Sallow.
  • Fernsby.
  • Villin (Villan)
  • Miracle.
  • Dankworth.
  • Relish.
  • MacQuoid.
  • Loughty.

What is the most famous last name?

The Top Ten: Most Common Last Names in the U.S.
Rank Name Occurrences
1. Smith 2,376,206
2. Johnson 1,857,160
3. Williams 1,534,042
4. Brown 1,380,145

What is the least popular name in the world?

Emerson and Weston closed out 2018's list as being the least popular names.