A surname is usually a person’s family name or a person’s surname. Since most Americans have European origins, most of the popular surnames used in the United States originate in Europe with African Americans using surnames acquired during the era of slavery.

The last most popular names of 25 in the United States

blacksmith

According to census records dating back to the 20th century, “Smith” is the most popular name in the United States. The 2000 census puts the number of people who have “Smith” as a surname in 2,376,206. The origin of the name can be traced back to England where it is also the most common surname and derives from an ancient English word “smib” which means “one who works in metal”. The name is used predominantly by Americans of Scottish, Irish and English descent but is also common among African Americans who were forced to adopt the name during the era of slavery.

Johnson

Johnson is the second most popular surname in the United States since 1900. The name is a combination of the word “son” and the name “John” and can mean “Son of John”. The origin of the name is traced back to Scandinavia and England and is prevalent in Americans of Scandinavian and English tradition. The name also exists in several variations including “Jonson”, “Jonson” and “Johansson”. Several famous people have “Johnson” as a surname, including US President 17th, Andrew Johnson and the famous actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

Williams

Williams is a surname commonly used by Americans and is the third most popular surname in the United States from 1900. The name “Williams” is a variant of the name William and may mean “descendant of William”. The origin of the name is attributable to Wales and England, where it is also quite popular, being the third most popular surname in Wales. The first documented use of the name was in its “Williams” variant in Staffordshire in 1307.

Jones

The fourth most common surname in the United States is Jones. The name “Jones” is a variant of “Johnson” and means “descendant or descendant of John”. The origin of the name is traced back to the United Kingdom in medieval Wales, Scotland and England. The first record of the existence of the name was in 1273 in a person called “Matilda Jones”. The name is used predominantly by Americans of Caucasian origin with the 2000 census which states that 57.7% of the white race used “Jones” as a surname. The 2000 census also showed that the name is popular among African Americans with 37.7% of black Americans using “Jones” as a surname. Many influential people used the surname “Jones” including the Governor of Kentucky 1991-1995, Brereton Jones.

Brown

Another popular surname in the United States is Brown. The origin of the name is attributable to England where it was used as a descriptive term for people with brown features (complexion, hair color or color of clothes). The name is the fifth most popular surname in the United States since the turn of the 20th century. Several influential Americans carry Brown as their surname including the current governor of Oregon, Kate Brown and the only African-American mayor of San Francisco, Willie Brown.

Controversy

The United States had a very dark period in its history in which slavery was taking place and the extermination of Native Americans was encouraged. In this period the two oppressed races were forced to give up their ancestral names and to adopt European surnames.

The last most popular names of 25 in the United States