Many American surnames have the suffix -son or -s, which in most cases means "son of." They are usually preceded by a proper name. The population of the United States is very large, and throughout history it has received cultural influences from almost all over the world.
This explains why there are many surnames or nicknames of Anglo-Saxon origin, for example. It is also common to find surnames of Hispanic origin or other older languages such as Latin.
Will Smith. Actor with one of the most common American surnames.
Others are directly related to some union or work group. For example, "Smith" that comes from the metal industry. Below, you can learn more about some of these surnames and their meaning.
List with 100 common surnames of the United States
Johnson: means "son of John or John." Famous bearers include American Presidents Andrew Johnson (1808-1875) and Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973).
Smith: comes from an English surname meaning "metal worker, blacksmith" derived from Old English smitan which means "to strike." It is the most common surname in most of the English-speaking world.
Williams: means "son of William". From the Germanic name Willahelm, which was composed of the elements wil "will, desire" and helm "helmet, protection."
Jones: derived from the name Jon, a medieval variant of John.
Brown - Originally a nickname for a person who had brown hair or skin. One notable bearer is Charlie Brown from Charles Schulz's "Peanuts" cartoon.
Davis: means "son of David." This was the last name of the revolutionary jazz trumpeter Miles Davis (1926-1991).
Miles Davis, the famous jazz trumpeter.
Miller: surname that refers to a person who owned or worked in a grain mill.
Wilson: means "son of Will."
Moore: from medieval English "open land" or "swamp."
Taylor: derived from Old French tailleur meaning "tailor."
Anderson: means “son of Andrew or Andrés”.
Thomas: derived from the name "Thomas". Greek form of the Aramaic name תָּאוֹמָא (Ta'oma ') meaning "twin." In the New Testament this is the name of an apostle.
Jackson: means "Son of Jack". A famous bearer of this surname was the American President Andrew Jackson (1767-1845). Another well-known personality with this surname was the singer Michael Jackson (1958-2009).
White: originally a nickname for a person who had white hair or a pale complexion, from Old English hwit, which means "white."
Harris: means "son of Harry".
Martin: derives from the name Martin which derives from the Roman God "Mars".
Thompson: means "son of Thom".
García: derives from a medieval name of unknown meaning, possibly related to the Basque word hartz, which means "bear."
Martínez: means “son of Martin”.
Robinson: means "son of Robin".
Clark: its meaning is "clergyman" or "clerk." It comes from the Old English "clerec" used to refer to "priest." A famous bearer was William Clark (1770-1838), an explorer from western North America.
Rodríguez: means "son of Rodrigo". It means "mighty, famous" from the Germanic elements hrod "fame" and ric "power."
Lewis: derived from the medieval name Louis. From the Germanic name Chlodovech, which was composed of the elements hlud "famous" and wig "war, battle."
CS Lewis, famous writer.
Lee: is a name that was given to the person who lived near a lake.
Walker: derives from Old English walkere which means "that moves, walker."
Hall: simply means "hall", a surname given to someone who lived or worked in the home of a nobleman in the Middle Ages.
Allen: surname derived from the name Allan. This proper name is believed to mean "little rock" or "attractive."
Young: derived from Old English "geong" meaning "young." This was a descriptive name to distinguish the father from the son.
Hernandez: means "son of Hernando" and Hernando is the medieval Spanish form of Ferdinand, which in Germanic means "the one who dares to travel."
King: From Old English 'cyning', originally a nickname for someone who acted in a royal way, worked for, or was associated in some way with a king.
Wright: From Old English Wyrhta meaning "brilliant, maker," a professional name for someone who was a craftsman. Famous bearers of this surname were Orville and Wilbur Wright, the inventors of the first airplane.
Willbur and Orville Wright, two American businessmen.
López: means “son of Lope”. Lope is a name from "lupus" which means "wolf" in Latin.
Hill: surname given to a person who lived near a hill.
Scott: it was originally a surname given to a person from Scotland or a person who spoke Gaelic.
Green: descriptive last name for someone who often wore the color green or someone who lived near the green town.
Adams: derived from the name "Adam" which means "man" in Hebrew.
Baker: is a surname related to the occupation of "baking".
González: means "son of Gonzalo".
Nelson: means "son of Neil." From the Gaelic name Niall, possibly meaning 'champion' or 'cloud'
Carter: surname related to a person who drove a car to transport goods. It comes from the Norman French word caretier.
Mitchell: derived from the name Michael. And Michael derives from the Hebrew name מִיכָאֵל (Mikha'el) which means "who is like God?"
Pérez: means “son of Pedro”. Peter means "rock" in Greek.
Roberts: means "son of Robert".
Turner: means "someone who works with a lathe."
Phillips: means “son of Phillip”. Phillip has its origin in the Greek name Φιλιππος (Philippos) which means "friend of horses."
Campbell: from a Gaelic nickname 'cam béul' which means 'crooked mouth'.
Parker: means "park keeper, ranger" in Old English.
Evans: means "son of Evan."
Edwards: means "son of Edward".
Collins: means "son of Colin".
Stewart: surname that arose from the occupation of an administrative official of a farm or administrator. From Old English stig "house" and weard "guard."
Sánchez: means “son of Sancho”. Sancho comes from Sanctius, which means "blessed, sacred."
Morris: derives from the name Mauricio or Maurice.
Rogers: derived from the name Roger. Roger means "famous spear" from the Germanic elements hrod "fame" and ger "spear."
Reed: variant of the Scottish surname "Read". It is believed that this was the name for people with red hair.
Cook: derived from Old English coc which means "cook."
Morgan: derives from the name Morgan which means "circle in the sea" in Welsh.
Bell: from medieval English, it means "bell." It originated as a nickname for a person who lived near the town bell, or who had a job as a bell ringer .
Murphy: Anglo-Saxon form of the Irish "Ó Murchadha" meaning "descendant of Murchadh."
Bailey: from medieval English baili which means "bailiff."
Rivera: topographical surname for a person who lived on a riverbank.
Cooper: means "barrel maker" in medieval English.
Sheldon Cooper from the TV series The Bing Bang Theory.
Richardson: means "son of Richard."
Cox: derived from "cook" which means "rooster".
Howard: surname derived from the name Hughard which means "brave heart".
Ward: surname that comes from Old English and means "guard".
Torres: From the Latin "turres". It was the surname given to a person who lived near a tower.
Peterson: means "son of Peter or Peter".
Gray: This last name comes from the nickname given to people with gray hair.
Ramírez: means “son of Ramiro”.
James: the English form of the Latin "Iacomus" or "Jacob" in Hebrew meaning "May God protect".
Watson: surname derived from the name Walter, which means "the one who rules the army" in Germanic.
Brooks: last name given to a person who lived near a stream.
Kelly: Anglo-Saxon form of Irish "Ceallaigh" meaning "descendant of Ceallach."
Sanders: derived from the name Alexander.
Price: means "son of Rhys"
Bennett: surname derived from the name Benedictus, which means "blessed"
Wood: surname with which someone who worked in the forest was called.
Barnes: surname to name a person who worked in a barn.
Ross: from the Ross region in northern Scotland and means "promontory."
Henderson: means "son of Hendry".
Coleman: it is derived from the name Colmán that in Ireland was the name of several Saints.
Coleman Hawkins.
Jenkins: derived from the name Jenkin which in turn derives from the name John.
Perry: derives from the old English "pear tree".
Powell: derives from the Welsh "Ap Howel" which means eminent in Wales.
Long: originates from a nickname given to people with long arms or legs.
Patterson: means "son of Patrick."
Hughes: surname derived from the name Hugh which means "heart, mind, spirit."
Flowers: derives from the name "Floro" which in Latin means "flower".
Washington: means "settlement belonging to the Wassa people," and Wassa in Old English means "compound, courtyard, city." A famous bearer was George Washington (1732-1799), the first president of the United States.
Butler: derives from the French Norman “butiller, sommelier”. In turn, it derives from the Latin butticula which means "bottle".
Simmons: derives from the name Simon, a name that in Hebrew means "he has heard."
Foster: variant surname of Forrester. It means "park rangers."
Gonzales: variant of González, which means “son of Gonzalo”.
Bryant: from the name Brian, and means "noble" in Gaelic.
Alexander: derived from the name Alexander which means "the one who defends".
Russell: from a Norman French nickname meaning the "little red one."
Griffin: surname of Welsh origin. It derives from the name Gruffudd which means "strong prince".
Díaz: means “son of Diego”.
Hayes: means "the guardian of the hedges." A famous bearer of this surname was the American President Rutherford B. Hayes.
References
- Campbell, M. (2002). American Surnames. 3-30-2017, retrieved from behindthename.com.
- Campbell, M. (2002). Most Common Surnames in the United State. 3-30-2017, retrieved from behindthename.com.
- US Census Bureau. (1994-2016). List of the 1000 Most Common Surnames in the US 3-30-2017, retrieved from mongabay.com.
- Census data. (2000-2017). Most Common Last Names, 2010. 3-30-2017, retrieved from infoplease.com.