#988 CANTRELL Occupational surname for a bell ringer (someone who rang the Chanterelles) or who sang in a choir. #601 CAREY Welsh surname meaning from the fort on the hill. #584 VALENZUELA Habitational surname from several places named Valenzuela in Spain. #571 PETERSEN Son of Peter. #750 WOODARD Contraction of Woodward meaning ward or caretaker of the woods. From Smith to Sullivan, Sanders to Myers, and Reyes to Roberts, read on for the most popular family names found across the United States! What sorts of surnames are considered more typically Catholic - Quora Daw was a nickname for David. 14. #206 SANTOS Saints or Family of Santo. #722 McCLAIN Scottish clan name, originally Mac Gille Eathain, meaning son of the servant of Saint John. Because, until the 20th Century a 300-mile journey was taxing and time-consuming, the farther south one goes, the more likely it is the inhabitants are Catholic, or at least Catholic in origin. #64 MURPHY Irish surname meaning Descendant of Murchadh. #595 CLAYTON From the village of clay (on clay ground). #505 FLOYD From the Welsh Lloyd or Llwyd, meaning grey. When she and her mother pointed out the error, she said officials told her that they couldnt add spaces in the last-name column. Perhaps to describe a person who is steadfast or stubborn. Even in the U.S. and the United Kingdom, patrilineal surnames are a surprisingly new convention. Burke 30. #135 STEVENS Son of Steven. #561 LAMB Occupational surname for a herder of sheep. #186 GARZA The heron bird. Join the community of family history enthusiasts and FamilySearch employees to ask questions and discuss potential product enhancements. As they opt for an array of surnames, hyphenated or otherwise, they might shift the countrys norms too. Unusually for Irish names, the "O" prefix has held strong, with more O'Connors than Connors in both Ireland and America. Daly 25. #545 LANG Nickname for a person who was tall. Alberto #373 THORNTON Lives in or near the town with thorns. Today, women arent legally mandated to give their husbands last name to their children but U.S. bureaucracy has continued to enforce patrilineal naming conventions. We appreciate your support! #90 HUGHES Family of Hugh. #481 HAMMOND From the Norse Viking name Hamundr, meaning high protection. #551 CAIN Hebrew name meaning acquired. #777 PRUITT From the Old French proux meaning valiant or brave one. #97 LONG Surname from a nickname for someone who was tall. #133 MEDINA From the city. #41 GREEN Occupational surname for a groundskeeper or family that lived near an open green. #779 CONWAY Irish surname from Mac Connmhaigh, a descriptional surname meaning Head Smasher or Mac Connbhuidhe, meaning yellow hound In other places across the country particularly in the southwest Hispanic or Latino populations arrived with a completely different tradition of family names. #91 PRICE Family of Rhys. #86 BENNETT Family of Benedict (Blessed). #957 SANFORD From the sandy ford. Naming customs of Hispanic America - Wikipedia #371 GRAVES Occupational surname for a steward, from from Middle English word greyve. Literally means forest of pines. Or if youre curious about America as a whole, why not take our U.S. States Quiz and test your knowledge? Since those are the countries from which many of America's original settlers came, it's hardly surprising. Wilson 27. #361 TERRY Power of the Theudo people. #849 GILES Holy man or one who does good. Catholic/Irish Surnames | Our Everyday Life #259 LYNCH Anglicized version of the Irish surname Loingsigh, meaning descendant of the mariner. Common Surnames in the United States 1990 - Behind the Name Common Surnames in the United States Home Common Surnames Information from the U.S. Census Bureau. #286 LUCAS From Lucania, Italy. #393 SALINAS Lives in a large building or fortress. #124 MORENO Brown-skinned. #858 MEDRANO Abundance. When the researchers asked the couples to explain why they chose the last names they did, lesbian and gay couples spoke far longer on those topics than did the heterosexual couples, Patterson told me. #757 MURILLO Lives near a boundary or wall. #296 BOWMAN Occupational surname for an archer. #618 ANTHONY Unknown meaning. #352 McDANIEL Son of Daniel. Such surnames include Roberts, Lewis, Phillips, Edwards, Evans, Cooper, Hughes, Rogers, Bailey, Scott, and more. #313 JOSEPH He will add. #89 RUIZ Son of Ruy or Roy. #33 ALLEN Little rock. #214 HUDSON Son of Hugh. #331 BYRD Occupational surname for someone who worked with birds. #575 NICHOLSON Son of Nicholas. #693 PITTS Lives near a hollow or pit. #782 DAVID Beloved. #6 GARCIA - Of unknown meaning. Literally means valley of the hare. #613 ROCHA Portuguese surname based on the French surname Roche, which means lives by the rocky crag. #674 HUFFMAN Man/Steward of a farm. #323 CAMPOS Lives in or near the countryside. #516 ANDRADE Habitational name for people who lived in the small parish of San Martio de Andrade in the town of Pontedeume, Galicia in Spain. NameCensus.com. #302 ACOSTA From the coastal region. Powell, Kimberly. #971 COMPTON From the valley farm. 2 Bd, 2 Ba. Jennifer Moss (she/her) is the founder of BabyNames.com, author of The Baby Names Workbook, and Producer of The Baby Names Podcast. #611 LAM Chinese surname meaning Forest. #647 TAPIA Lives in or behind a mud wall. Even if patrilineal surnaming does begin to lose some of its hold over the U.S., a single, perfectly equitable standard for surnaming is hard to imagine. #501 GLOVER Occupational surname for a glove maker or glove merchant. #518 CONNER An occupational surname for an inspector of weights and measures. #567 COCHRAN Scottish surname for a family who lived near the lowlands of Cochrane. #911 BEST Occupational surname for someone who was a cattle-herder or dealer. Mallinson knew that their choice was not a popular one for heterosexual American couplesshes a professor of sociolinguistics and gender and womens studies at the University of Maryland at Baltimore County, and wrote a 2017 paper that, in part, analyzes patrilineal surname conventions. #710 HUTCHINSON Son of hugh, or son of the close, beloved relative. #789 PALACIOS Spanish surname for someone who lived in a palace or worked in a palace. #504 CASEY Irish surname from the Gaelic OCathasaigh, meaning son of Cathasach From the old English beste meaning beast. #470 HUBBARD Variation of the name Hubert, meaning bright heart. #997 DAUGHERTY From the Gaelic surname ODochartaigh, meaning descendent of the hurtful one. #189 NICHOLS Family of Nicholas. #672 SHIELDS From a shed or shelter. #855 MAHONEY From the Gaelic surname OMathghamhana meaning son of Mathghamhain, literally meaning bear. Because these settlers were some of the first Europeans to arrive in the New World and would go on to populate much of the vast, unsettled country, their names have stuck around for centuries. Someone's last name tells you that somewhere along the line there was an Irish Catholic ancestor, but not that the contemporary person with that surname is either Catholic, Protestant or, for that matter, Irish. #668 HENSLEY Habitational surname for someone who lived in or near Hensley, UK. #458 DELACRUZ Literally translates to of the cross. Why? #1 SMITH - A smith is a craftsman, and was used for as an occupational title for many different crafts. All dimensions are approximate. Creating a new last name from scratch, which would be shared among all members of the family, involves a lot of extra paperwork. Literally means fern-covered clearing. Variation of Suarez. For example, those of Spanish descent have an interesting way to denote familial lines through the last name alone. #612 HUFF Lives by a ridge or hollow. #898 FARLEY Habitational surname for one who is from any of the many English towns called Farley or Farleigh. #657 PHELPS Family of Phillip. #304 MAY Family of Matthew. #57 CRUZ Of the Cross relating to Jesus Christ 1. Indigenous peoples were made to take on white or Catholic names instead of the traditional ones they had carried for centuries. #907 NIXON Son of Nick/Nicholas. Derderian - This is a patronymic last name for "son of derder" in Armenian and it translates to "son of a priest.". #406 BARBER Occupational surname for a barber. #489 SCHROEDER German occupational surname for a tailor. #637 ATKINSON Family or son of Adam. #665 ACEVEDO Spanish surname meaning someone who lives near or in a grove of holly trees or hollywood. #289 PARK Korean surname, meaning gourd. Neil Burdess. #105 SULLIVAN Irish surname from descendant of Sileabhn (Little Dark Eyes) #266 HARVEY Worthy of Battle. #95 PATEL Indian/Gujarati surname meaning Landowner. #956 ESTES From the East. #207 HART Irish surname, from the Gaelic hAirt meaning descendant of Art. What is the Ancestry Chromosome Painter/Browser? #193 RYAN Irish surname and given name meaning descendant of a follower of Ran Kevin Clay. #83 CHAVEZ Occupational surname for a key maker. #609 COPELAND Bought land. #991 HENDRIX Family of Heinrich. Certain surnames identify Irish Catholic ancestry, but don't establish a dominant genealogy. For women, taking their husbands last name became a symbol of accepting his authority. #435 GILL Nickname for William. #544 BALLARD Nickname for a person who had a bald head. #574 ROTH German surname meaning red, used for a person with red hair. This sounds much less white than Smith or White, but it's still quite popular. #176 BOYD Scottish surname, from the Celtic term boidhe meaning fair or yellow. #622 SINGLETON Habitational surname of people who lived in a town named Singleton or in or near a burnt clearing. #906 BLEVINS Welsh surname from the word Blaid meaning wolf. #643 HODGE Pet form of the name Roger. #594 MORROW From the row of cottages on the moor. #883 McMAHON From the Gaelic surname Mac Mathghamha, which means son of the Bear. #603 MELENDEZ Visigoth surname meaning Entire Gift. #58 EDWARDS Family of Edward All of the data on this page is sourced from the Decennial Census survey, from the United States Census Bureau. (Double-barrel surnames can also retain patrilineal lineages of their own; Spain required that the fathers last name be listed firstand therefore be the next name that gets passed downuntil the laws started to change in 2000.) Surnames developed in Ireland as early as the tenth century, making them among the first in Europe. Here are the top 100 names as ranked by the 2010 Census. Literally means little shield. #617 MONROE Scottish clan name possibly meaning Man from the river Roe referring to an Irish place name. Unknown meaning. #463 MULLINS French occupational surname for someone who worked in a mill. Catholic Name Meaning & Catholic Family History at Ancestry.com #175 ROBERTSON Son of Robert. In 2007, when one researcher was studying state last-name policies, the New Hampshire DMV reported that its computer system couldnt add hyphens to last names. #864 PECK Occupational surname for someone who dealt in pekkesa medieval measure of dry goods equal to 28 pounds. (2021, February 16). #767 JACOBSON Son of Jacob. #151 FREEMAN A person who was not owned or ruled by another. #729 ONEAL Son of Neal. #224 HOFFMAN German occupational surname meaning property manager. #4 BROWN - Surname from a nickname for someone with a dark complexion or hair. #642 YORK From the ancient city or county of York, UK. #502 OSBORNE Viking name, literally meaning Bear God Non-GGG Members: Non-GGG members may search the Surname List database. #694 PARRISH Someone who lives near Paris, France or near a particular parish a geographical area defined by religion. To this end, the USCCB has advanced beatification and canonization causes of six inspirational African American men and women: Venerable Pierre Toussaint, Servant of God Mother Mary Lange . Baby names are an important cultural tradition across the world, and have been for thousands of years. Icelanders, meanwhile, dont have family last names, instead taking surnames that reflect a parents first name. #201 ARNOLD Power of the Eagle. #204 HANSEN Son of Hans. Carbo is an occupational last name referring "to someone who sells, extracts coal, or lived by a coal outcrop". #12 LOPEZ Son of Lope/Lobe, meaning wolf. Andrysiak This patronymic polish surname refers to 'Son of Andrzej.' #22 PEREZ Son of Pedro (Pedrez/Perez). #134 AGUILAR From a place name, meaning Eagle. #865 LUCERO Light or evening star. Im going to go out on a limb and say Im not sure those are common conversations, she told me. It means "bright or fair," and its variations are Claire and Clara. #372 BUSH Lives near the bush or thicket. #311 DOUGLAS From the dark or green river. #347 JENNINGS Family of little John. #152 WEBB Occupational surname from the name webber, meaning weaver. #747 STAFFORD From the landing by the ford. Cassia. Basque term meaning Cold Mountain. #531 NORTON From the north town, north settlement. #987 REYNA From the French surname Rainer meaning army counsel. Probably used as a nickname for a magician or jokester. Phone: (904) 823-8707 or (904) 806-2131. The Surname Rodriguez: Its Meaning and Origin, Meaning and Origin of the Surname THOMPSON, The Meaning and Origin of the Last Name 'Morales', Meaning and Origin for the Surname "Cook", The Origin and Meaning of the Last Name, "Long", PALMER Surname Meaning and Family History, Certificate in Genealogical Research, Boston University. #686 GRIMES Viking surname meaning masked person, fierce. How to name ones family should be a choice for each couple. #980 NOVAK The newcomer/new one. Persons in Ireland, like persons everywhere, pick up and move. #614 CAMERON Nickname surname meaning bent nose. #62 MORRIS Dark-skinned, from the Moors. #314 BARRETT Warlike person, quarrelsome. In that tradition, Martnez then would be the descendant of Martn. #508 BALL Descriptive surname for a bald man. But now that we have briefly explored the origins of names, lets take a look at 50 of the most popular and common last names in the United States. Straight, married couples in the U.S. still almost always give kids the fathers last name. With over 30 billion (seriously!) #308 PEARSON Son of Piers. #394 FUENTES Fountains. #625 MATHIS Family of Matthew. Although it currently means the religious leader of the Catholic church, it was a title used for clergy of any rank. #630 GALVAN Nickname for someone who had a receding hairline or was going bald. #826 HERMAN Army man. And the rate at which parents are choosing not to marry has risen dramatically over the past 50 years. #607 CONLEY From the Gaelic surname OConghaile, meaning son of the brave hound. #295 WALSH Welsh, foreigner, stranger referring to Celt. Lynch 18. There . Fitzgerald. Catholic, like all of the names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. Ryan 9. #317 KELLER German occupational surname for a winemaker. #148 VARGAS From the pasture. #104 RUSSELL Little Red one. #983 McCANN From the Gaelic surname MacCana, meaning descendant of the wolf cub. Examples: Roderick GuerreroRoderick, the warrior or soldier Lucas VicarioLucas, the vicar Carlos ZapateroCarlos, the shoemaker #19 JACKSON Son of Jack/John. Historically, surnames evolved as a way to sort people into groups - by occupation, place of origin, clan affiliation, patronage, parentage, adoption, and even physical characteristics (like red hair). #559 ALI Exalted, revered. #187 DANIELS Family of Daniel. Literally means high rock. #268 GILBERT Bright Pledge. Catholic Schools And The Fabric Of American Education - Forbes Many of the modern surnames in the dictionary can be traced back to Britain and Ireland. O'Reilly 12. #791 BARTLETT Son or family of Bartholomew. #832 CORONA Literally means crown, but could mean several occupations: someone who made helmets or hats, someone who was going bald, or a follower of Christianity referring to the crown of thorns. #221 DELGADO Slender, skinny. Edouard #735 HUERTA Lives by the top of a hill or near a fortress. #758 MOON Either from the French word moun meaning a monk or someone who lives a monastic lifestyle, or from the Cornish word mon, meaning thin applied to a person who was skinny. Learn more about the world with our collection of regional and country maps. #813 MIDDLETON From anyone of the places named Middleton in the UK, literally meaning the middle town. Many Hispanic people in the U.S. continue traditions of double-barrel surnames. #772 LEACH Either an occupational surname for someone who worked with leaches (like a doctor) o from the word loecc/loch meaning water or lake for someone who lived near one. #262 BISHOP Occupational surname for a bishop. #785 BERGER Either Swedish surname for someone who lived near a hill or mountain, or French for a shepherd (Bergere). If new parents make a point of discussing how to structure their childs last name, Mallinson said, they might open up space for a similar explosion of surnames. #177 ROSE Lives near the roses. #656 BARRON Occupational surname for someone with the title of Baron, or a nickname for someone who acts higher than his station. #319 WADE By the ford. A Complete List of Jewish Last Names + Meanings Kimberly Powell is a professional genealogist and the author of The Everything Guide to Online Genealogy. #640 ROY Royal, Kingly. #234 GUERRERO Soldier, warrior. #179 SALAZAR From Salazar, Spain. #678 ARROYO Habitational surname from any of numerous places named Arroyo, literally meaning water channel or irrigation channel. #697 BOOTH Lives near a stall or hut. #70 COOPER Occupational surname for a barrel maker. #606 LARSEN Son of Lars. #965 McPHERSON From the Gaelic surname Mac an Phearsain, meaning son of the parson. #851 CROSBY Lives by the cross or crossing. #655 HORN An occupational surname for someone who either played a horn instrument or made small articles, like spoons, out of animal horn. #232 LAWRENCE Family of Lawrence or from an area named Laurence. #45 HALL Occupational or place surname for a person who lived or worked in a hall. The Kentucky Migration 1780 - 1820 - Geni #279 GARRETT Family of Gerald. Surname Origins; All About Me; Compare-a-Face; Famous Relatives; Record My Story; Picture My Heritage; In-Home Activities; Enter your last name to find its meaning and origin. #626 CHRISTIAN Follower of Christ. #449 ADKINS Family or son of Adam. #446 WALTON From the walled town. 15. #527 McBRIDE Son of the servant of Brighid. #137 FORD Lives by a shallow place in the river. #790 CUEVAS Habitational surname for someone who lived in or near caves. #112 FISHER Occupational surname for fisherman. #496 PERSON Son of Per/Peter. #354 PARKS Living in or near a green area, or occupational surname for a groundskeeper. Mac or O' anything, usually Catholic, but may be Scottish and therefore Protestant. #572 BRIGGS Variation of the name Bridges could be habitational for someone who lived near a bridge or occupational for someone who built bridges. #689 ONEILL Son of Neill. #902 POTTS Family of Philpott, an early form of the name Phillip. #848 CONRAD Brave counsel. In fact, data from a Census Bureau study reveals that the number of Hispanic surnames in the top 25 doubled between 1990 and 2000. A service provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. #842 WALLS Someone who lived near or behind a big wall. 200 Common American Last Names or Surnames, With Meanings 1. Sylmarie Dvila-Montero #471 HODGES Family of Roger. #350 WALTERS Family of Walter. #964 SPENCE Occupational surname for someone in charge of a pantry/goods in an estate. #59 COLLINS Family of Coilean #94 SANDERS Family of Alexander. High born. 17. #472 ZHANG Chinese surname meaning archer. #263 MONTGOMERY From a mountain name in France. #944 WOODWARD Ward of the forest/woods. Powell, Kimberly. #258 OBRIEN Of the Family of Brien Surname Origin Italian Last Names Italian Last Names Abate Abato Abbruzzese Abela Abella Abramo Abruzzese Abruzzo Accardi Accardo Accetta Accomando Accordino Aceto Achille Acierno Acquaviva Acquisto Acri Adami Adamo Addonizio Adduci #837 ENRIQUEZ Son of Enrique. #632 BOONE Good person or from Bohon, France. #541 PRATT From the Old English word praett meaning a trick (like pratfall). Black Creole culture in southern Louisiana derives from contact and synthesis in the region over nearly three centuries between African slaves, French and Spanish colonists, gens libres de couleur (free people of color), Cajuns . #197 DUNN Dark or brown in complexion. A Complete List of Italian Last Names + Meanings #763 BARAJAS Habitational surname for a family from any number of villages of that name. The Japanese Tamio became Tommy for everyday usage. #762 CORDOVA Habitational surname for a family from the ancient city of Crdoba, Spain. #794 McCALL From Gaelic surname Mac Cathmhaoil, literally meaning son of the battle chief. #299 FOWLER Occupational surname for someone who works with fowl (birds). #114 SIMMONS Family of Simon. #841 SCHAEFER German occupational surname from the word schfer which means shepherd. #670 CISNEROS From Cisneros in the province of Palencia, Spain. Literally means prominent. #138 CASTRO Portuguese/Spanish surname meaning Castle. Source: Census Bureau, 2010 U.S. Census (latest update in U.S. Census Bureau Frequently Occurring Surnames). One being an occupational surname for a bow maker. #460 TODD Fox. #629 RICHARD Brave ruler. Literally means lives by the stream that leads to the port or bay. When two people with double-barrel last names have children, they each pass down the first of their two last names. #738 BARRY From the Gaelic surname O Baire, meaning the male descendant of Fionnbharr, or fair-haired one. #497 COLN Contraction of the name Colombo, meaning dove. #139 MARSHALL Occupational surname for someone who is a lawman or takes care of horses. #464 CASTANEDA Literally translates to chestnut, and might have been used to describe a person with reddish-brown hair or worked a chestnut grove. While Smith remains the most common U.S. surname, for the first time, two Hispanic namesGarcia and Rodriguezmade the top 10. #715 RUSSO Descriptive surname for someone who was a red-head or had a ruddy complexion. It was a respectable movement involving the most responsible and accomplished people of France. #456 HUANG Chinese surname that means bright or yellow. Trivia The name Kimada, which has six letters and is the inverse of Adamik, contains equal proportions of vowels and consonants. #733 STEPHENSON Son of Stephen. #63 MORALES By the mulberry tree #592 HOUSTON From Hughs town. #367 HORTON From the farm on muddy soil. Catholic schools are proud part of the fabric of American education and civil society. McCarthy 14. #583 MORA Blackberry. #227 PEA Lives near the rock or cliff. #141 HARRISON Son of harry. #494 STRICKLAND From the cow pasture. #894 HERRING Occupational surname for a fisher or seller of herring (fish). #3 WILLIAMS Son or family of William. #998 TRAVIS Occupational surname for someone who collected a tax or toll at a crossing. #491 WATERS From the place near the water, or family of Walter. Infoplease is a reference and learning site, combining the contents of an encyclopedia, a dictionary, an atlas and several almanacs loaded with facts. When Hernndez Grande had kids of her own, she decided they should take the last name of her husbandwho is from Englandso that they wouldnt have the same experience she did. #698 KOCH German occupational surname for a cook or kitchen manager. FamilySearch Terms of Use (Updated 2021-09-27), The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. #344 SHELTON From the ledge/enclosure. #691 HO Chinese surname with several meanings, descriptive of a chin waddle or characteristic long-lasting. #445 REESE From the given name Rhys, meaning enthusiasm, passion. 120 Most Powerful And Strong Last Names Or Surnames Murphy - Wikipedia Names rising in popularity over the past few decades include Nguyen, Lee, Zhang, Wong, and Kim. Leslie Odom, Jr. Has Welcomed His Second Child. Begin learning more about yourself and your heritage. Literally means black. #770 BULLOCK From the English word bullock meaning young steer. While Michael Houlihan's name sounds Irish and although he may have come from Dublin in the Irish Republic, that doesn't mean necessarily he's Catholic or even that his ancestors were predominantly Catholic. He was asking about an FBI memo citing . #163 SILVA Portuguese surname meaning by the woods or forest. #17 TAYLOR From the family of the tailor. #429 SERRANO Lives near a mountain ridge or collection of hills. #51 GOMEZ Man What are Ancestry DNA Genetic Communities? #410 ROBBINS Family of Robin. #210 ELLIOTT Family of Elias. #992 ROLLINS Family of Rollo. Literally means Forest land. #742 DYER Occupational surname for someone who dyed either cloth or hair or hide. #860 McMILLAN From the Gaelic surname Macghillemhaoil, meaning son of the monks servant. Shafer pointed to data from an ongoing study by researchers at Princeton and Columbia Universities, in which 707 unmarried mothers in a survey of 3,624about 19.5 percentreported that they would not give their child the fathers last name. #245 HARPER Occupational surname for someone who played or made harps. #847 MICHAEL Who is like god? Collins 31. The look and structure of the American family has transformed to include more queer couples, more unmarried couples, and more racially diverse couples, all of whom seem less attached to patrilineal surnames. Read: The gender researchers guide to an equal marriage. A dozen things you might not know about Irish names #552 PATRICK Nobleman. 1,000 Most Popular Last Names in the U.S. | BabyNames.com Meaning near the water channel, strait. #638 VELEZ Visigoth surname meaning vigilant people. #409 DENNIS Family of Dennis. #80 RICHARDSON Son of Richard. Catholic Names #736 PRESTON From the village with the priest. Hear ye! Sephardim fanned out fro Iberia to all parts of the known world: Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North Africa, the Ottoman Empire, the New World, Central and . #1000 ARCHER Occupational surname for an archer/bow man. #914 PORTILLO Spanish/Castilian surname meaning small port. #627 SKINNER Occupational surname for someone who made hides or pelts. #217 RILEY From the rye clearing. #261 VEGA From the plain, meadow.