What is the most common last name in each state?

What’s in a name? William Shakespeare’s iconic line from Romeo and Juliet has echoed through the centuries, but we all know that a name can reveal a great deal of information.

In many Western cultures the surname is passed down through patrilineality, meaning that the father’s last name is typically given to the family’s next generation. This tradition means that surnames are often grouped in certain continents, countries and even areas.

A study published by ancestry.com found that Smith was by far the most common surname in the United States, followed by Johnson, Miller, Jones, Williams, and Anderson. However there is huge variation in the most frequent last names in different states.

States like Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas have many Hispanic names, such as Garcia, Hernandez and Martinez. In the Northwest there are more Andersons than Browns, but that is reversed on the East Coast.

Which are the most widely-used surnames in my state?

The ancestry.com report compiled the top three most common last names in each states. Here they are, with the most common surnames on the left…

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