Which last name is most popular in your state?
- May 2, 2023 |Last updated on 05/02/2023
It seems like we all know someone who is a Smith or Johnson, and that’s because those last names, along with Williams, Miller, Jones and Anderson are the most popular surnames in the United States, according to genealogy site Ancestry.com.
The site used data from phone book listings to compile their list, shown below. The regional differences are quite interesting, as they reflect the demographics and immigration history of each state. For example, in the Southwest, Latino names are common, whereas in the Midwest, German and Scandinavian names are more popular.
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Hawaii’s top names are unique in their own way, too, as none of their top three names — Kim, Wong and Lee — crack the top three in any other state. And Massachusetts, with its large Irish population, is the only state with the surname Sullivan in its top three, writes Ancestry.com blogger Angel Cohn.
Check out Ancestry.com’s full list of the three most common surnames in each state:
| Alabama | Smith | Williams | Johnson |
| Alaska | Smith | Johnson | Williams |
| Arizona | Smith | Johnson | Garcia |
| Arkansas | Smith | Williams | Johnson |
| California | Garcia | Hernandez | Lopez |
| Colorado | Smith | Johnson | Martinez |
| Connecticut | Smith | Johnson | Brown |
| Delaware | Smith | Johnson | Brown |
| Florida | Smith | Williams | Johnson |
| Georgia | Smith | Williams | Johnson |
| Hawaii | Lee | Wong | Kim |
| Idaho | Smith | Johnson | Anderson |
| Illinois | Smith | Johnson | Williams |
| Indiana | Smith | Miller | Johnson |
| Iowa | Smith | Williams | Johnson |
| Kansas | Smith | Johnson | Miller |
| Kentucky | Smith | Johnson | Jones |
| Louisiana | Williams | Smith | Johnson |
| Maine | Smith | Brown | Johnson |
| Maryland | Smith | Johnson | Jones |
| Massachusetts | Smith | Johnson | Sullivan |
| Michigan | Smith | Johnson | Williams |
| Minnesota | Johnson | Anderson | Nelson |
| Mississippi | Smith | Williams | Johnson |
| Missouri | Smith | Johnson | Williams |
| Montana | Smith | Johnson | Anderson |
| Nebraska | Johnson | Smith | Miller |
| Nevada | Smith | Johnson | Garcia |
| New Hampshire | Smith | Brown | Johnson |
| New Jersey | Smith | Williams | Johnson |
| New Mexico | Martinez | Garcia | Chavez |
| New York | Smith | Williams | Brown |
| North Carolina | Smith | Williams | Johnson |
| North Dakota | Johnson | Anderson | Olson |
| Ohio | Smith | Miller | Johnson |
| Oklahoma | Smith | Johnson | Williams |
| Oregon | Smith | Johnson | Miller |
| Pennsylvania | Smith | Miller | Williams |
| Rhode Island | Smith | Brown | Johnson |
| South Carolina | Smith | Williams | Brown |
| South Dakota | Johnson | Anderson | Smith |
| Tennessee | Smith | Johnson | Jones |
| Texas | Garcia | Smith | Martinez |
| Utah | Smith | Johnson | Anderson |
| Vermont | Smith | Brown | Johnson |
| Virginia | Smith | Johnson | Jones |
| Washington | Smith | Johnson | Anderson |
| West Virginia | Smith | Miller | Johnson |
| Wisconsin | Johnson | Smith | Anderson |
| Wyoming | Smith | Johnson | Miller |
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Do you know a lot of people with the most popular last name in your state?
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