How common is your family name today? Check this database to find out...

[Breeze54]

In U.S. Name Count, Garcias Are Catching Up With Joneses

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/17/us/17surnames.html

By SAM ROBERTS
Published: November 17, 2007

Step aside Moore and Taylor. Welcome Garcia and Rodriguez.

Smith remains the most common surname in the United States, according to a new analysis released
yesterday by the Census Bureau. But for the first time, two Hispanic surnames — Garcia and Rodriguez
— are among the top 10 most common in the nation, and Martinez nearly edged out Wilson for 10th place.

snip-->

Altogether, the census found six million surnames in the United States. Among those, 151,000
were shared by a hundred or more Americans. Four million were held by only one person.

“The names tell us that we’re a richly diverse culture,” Mr. Kominski said.

But the fact that about 1 in every 25 Americans is named Smith, Johnson, Williams, Brown, Jones,
Miller or Davis “suggests that there’s a durability in the family of man,” Mr. Kaplan, the author,
said. A million Americans share each of those seven names. An additional 268 last names are
common to 10,000 or more people. Together, those 275 names account for one in four Americans.

As the population of the United States ballooned by more than 30 million in the 1990s, more Murphys
and Cohens were counted when the decade ended than when it began.

more......

Search a list of the 5,000 most common surnames in the United States.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/17/us/17surnames.html

Original Link to US Census database
http://www.census.gov/genealogy/www/freqnames2k.html

-----------------------------------

My family name dropped 20 something places. I guess my kids, nieces and nephews better get busy! :P

[DFW]

1. I wasn't even in the top 5000

My line is apparently doomed.

[Breeze54]

4. Really? It must be a very unusual name then.

:shrug:

[DFW]

5. Maybe so, but

There is a very prominent university in the USA carrying my name, so even if
we die out, the name will live on unless the Republicans outlaw literacy altogether,
and I don't see that happening for at least another ten years.

[Breeze54]

6. Well, that's good to know!

Very cool. ;) I'm really surprised there aren't more in the US
with my surname. Sort of bizarre to me! It says there are less
than 50 per 100,000. Maybe they all moved back to Ireland. :P

[OlderButWiser]

51. If you go to the

Census Bureau link you can search deeper into the list.

My last name was in the 15,000s.

[ProfessorGAC]

20. Neither Was I

I kind of guessed that though. I know for a fact that the only people in Illinois with my last name (spelled the way we legally spell it) are me, my wife, and my mom. So, that's 3 out of 13 million.
The Professor
On Edit: The other spelling of it ranked around 3450.

[DFW]

38. Good point about the alternate spelling

I tried another spelling and got a hit in the top 2000

[GoneOffShore]

29. Neither was mine

But that's ok - I share it with some famous & infamous people, so it's just as well that it's not there.

[TahitiNut]

34. Neither my (father's) last name NOR my mother's maiden name were in the list.

Indeed, I know when my mother's family name was first created. 1904. (They were Norwegian and changed from the patronymic naming to family naming and used a regional farm name.) Before that date, NOBODY had that name. Thus, every person in the world with that name is directly descended from my great-grandfather. My father's last name, however, has its origins in 14th century Scotland - as a minor lowland clan that was part of the larger Campbell Clan.

My paternal grandmother's maiden name - Davis - is so common that it's nearly impossible for me to trace her ancestry. The family rumor was that she was somehow directly related to Jefferson Davis, though.

It's interesting stuff.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. speculation while the page is loading

(for some reason it is taking forever to load)--my birth surname and married surname won't be on the list. Oddly enough, both names are also common first names, so all my life I've had letters addressed to "Mr" with my first and last names switched. Hmm...couldn't get into the files....but I'm sure my names wouldn't be there. However in my family tree are several of the common surnames, though I have to go back to about 1500 to get a Smith, which to my mind IS rather odd.....

[Breeze54]

3. Which link did you use? If you used the NYT, you may have to

register to view the article. Try the US Census link instead.

I'll bet your name is there.... they have 5000 names on the list! ;)

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

48. I'm registered with the Times

but for some reason this morning it took longer to load than I had time to watch. I'll try it now.

Yes, my birth name is in the 1000 range, and my married name in the 4000.

[Breeze54]

50. Then you're a regular 'Joe' by all accounts!

;)

My breed seems to be on the wane. :( But not for long!

My son has a girl in his room tonight! :rofl:

I'm J/K!!! :P (not) ;)

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

58. Well, here's another way to keep a family name going

When my niece married, her husband took HER last name, and their girls are all surnamed with my family name. And my nephew and his bride have just found out they are expecting! And my step-son has two kids, so it looks like the married name will go on as well.

[WilliamPitt]

7. 3 per 100,000

Me, Brad and Harvey. One more and we can play golf.

[Breeze54]

8. LOL.... Hey? At least you could play pool!

You better get busy then and shore up that family surname! ;)

On edit: Found someone named Howland worse off than you! Give him a call! :P

[chromotone]

28. Hey, mine is 3 per 100,000 too!

Rank: 2,515, down 989 since 1990.

[JHB]

41. I'm in the "three per" club too...

Solidly in the 4000's.

[dysfunctional press]

68. same here- at number 4421 with a bullet- moved up in rank 158 places since 1990.

unfortunately, i had a vasectomy and won't be adding to the total.

[semillama]

9. My name is ranked at 1,586

a drop of 331 in rank since 1990.

My wife's name isn't even listed, though. She's more special than I am.

[cynatnite]

10. Married name...ranked 26,657...maiden name...didn't make the list...

but that's understandable. My father wasn't from the US anyway. :)

[Beausoleil]

11. I'm in one of the top seven.

Although in the original German, our surname would not be in the top seven.

[Breeze54]

15. My 'would be' married name

(if I had taken it) is in the top ten also with no change in rank.

But my name (my father's name) has dropped a bit. Not that common anyway, it seems.

[mondo joe]

12. My last name is not in the 5,000. My mom's last name is #4.

[JNelson6563]

13. #39

Nelson (my married name)

[Reader Rabbit]

14. My surname wasn't there.

But that doesn't really surprise me. No one can pronounce it or even guess where it originates. They're usually off by a continent or two.

[mainegreen]

16. Probably only me and my son have my last name in this country.

It's one of those multi-part extended version last names. The kind the government modifies when people immigrate. In fact, my father had to legally change it back after becoming a citizen to get the family name back.

[Jennicut]

17. My maiden name Butler was #98

But my married name was nowhere to be found. Oh well.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

18. My maiden and married names never made nor will never make this list.

[sinkingfeeling]

19. My maiden name was Jones. I married a Davis and my only sibling, a sister, married a Smith.

[Breeze54]

21. You're in the top Ten for sure! No worries for you!

:D

[JerseygirlCT]

22. As expected, no chance mine's there!

Makes tracing family a bit easier though.

[Johonny]

23. My last name is made up

by my grandfather. Thus anyone with it is very likely related to me:)

[Breeze54]

27. That's cool! Easier to find relatives but it seems

like a lot of people posting all have obscure names! I think that's interesting. ;)

[Javaman]

24. My last name is a very unique Italian name. Anyone that has it

is a direct relation to me within 2 cousins. Not many of us here. However, there is a very small town in southern Italy where virtually everyone has that name...that sort of scares me. LOL

[LWolf]

33. My current last name is Sicilian.

It's not uncommon; it's even on the globe.

I married it, though, and probably should have left it behind when the marriage failed. I just got tired of changing my name, lol.

[DinahMoeHum]

25. I'm told the Turkish version of my surname is fairly common. . .

in Turkey and in the Near/Middle East.

Not on this US database, though. However, smarter fellow Americans can surmise my heritage because of the name ending in "ian" or "yan".

:):):)


P.S. Whaddaya know! Post No. 9000. It's been a l-o-n-g 6 years since I joined up with DU.

:kick:

[Breeze54]

26. Congrats on hitting 9,000 posts!

:woohoo: :hi: :party: :woohoo:

[bean fidhleir]

67. Armyanski, huh? (nt)

[Richardo]

30. 'Lewis' and 'Clark' are 26 and 25 respectively

What are the odds?

[Breeze54]

31. That is odd but there are more Clark's per 100k than Lewis'.

My family name has way, way less occurances.

[LWolf]

32. I've had 3 last names.

The one I was born with is quite uncommon; I've never met anyone who wasn't related with that last name. It's not one of the 5,000 most common.

My 2nd last name, from my first marriage, is ranked 2,023 and has dropped 379 places since 1990.

My current last name, from my 2nd and last failed marriage, is ranked 3,019 and has risen 388 places.

[Samurai_Writer]

35. Wow, my family name is skyrocketing!

Rankings:

8 occurrences to 100,000 people
#1756 in 1990
up 238 places in rank since 1990

[DadOf2LittleAngels]

36. Lower four thousands, but growing fast!

[seabeyond]

37. my last name is #86. husbands last name is 4,937. so at least made list

on both names. interesting. i wouldnt have thought. and really really surprised with my last name at 86

[Kazak]

39. Neither of my surnames, maternal nor paternal, made the top 5000...

:shrug:

[Breeze54]

40. That's weird. Is it an uncommon name?

:shrug:

[Alexander]

42. My first name is a more common last name than my last name.

For that matter, the English spelling of my last name is more common than the native spelling.

[Firespirit]

43. DAYUM! Very rare

My own name barely made the big Census file of names with 100 or more appearances in the U.S. I knew it was rare, but still... My mother's maiden name DIDN'T make the big 150,000-entry list. My grandmothers' maiden names made the top 400 and top 1300.

If I get married, I think I'm keeping my name before it goes extinct!

[Breeze54]

45. I hear that! I have my maiden name (never changed it)

and so does my youngest son. The name will carry on... he has a girlfriend. :P

[DemReadingDU]

44. Last name not in the database

There is no one on the Indiana branch to carryon the name. On the Iowa branch, there are a couple, but they are still in high school.

[Breeze54]

46. Then there's hope to carry on the name!

But they need to wait awhile. ;)

[EFerrari]

47. Ferrari translates to "Smith".

That would be one big family reunion. lol

[Breeze54]

49. That's a reunion that I'd pretend to be a 'Ferrari ' !

:P

[Buns_of_Fire]

52. Apparently my clan is starting to breed like little bunnies.

Finally. Up 350+ positions from 1990 (pre-Viagra), when we weren't even ON the list. Apparently, some people in my family are begatting their brains out.

[martymar64]

53. Mine is not in the top 5000

:-(

[Kitty Herder]

54. Mine isn't in the top 5,000. And there was even a U.S. President who shared my

last name. It ranks number 7375. But my mom's maiden name is in the top ten.

[VOX]

55. In the mid-200s. Down 32 since 1990...Time to sell? Or do I save it for the long haul?

Best to hang onto it, I guess. :toast:

[B Calm]

56. My last name is very rare. The only ones in this country with the same

last name as mine are close relatives. My grandparents came here in 1911 and customs shortened my grandfathers last name to just 10 letters.

[bean fidhleir]

57. This feels ugly to me.

Luis Padilla, 48, a banker who has lived in Miami since he arrived from Colombia 14 years ago, greeted the ascendance of Hispanic surnames enthusiastically.

“It shows we’re getting stronger,” Mr. Padilla said. “If there’s that many of us to outnumber the Anglo names, it’s a great thing.”

[treestar]

59. That's about as ugly as the likely Freeper reaction:

"This is hugh! I'm series! We have to start having white babies or those Hispanics are gonna take over and we'll all have to learn Spanish! !!!!!111111111111"

[bean fidhleir]

63. That was my reaction, too.

Granted the minds of bankers are, shall we say, more narrowly focussed than the minds of many other people. But this guy isn't alone. I've seen this kind of triumphal ethnochauvinism coming from many other Latin-culture people. "We're moving in, having babies, and taking over!" It would stink if it were neo-Nazis doing it, and it stinks when anyone else does it.

Especially since human overpopulation is a disaster-in-process, especially overpopulation in first-world countries with our rapaciously consumerist lifestyles. The last thing Earth needs is more people strip-mining her. We need to cut back on what we're doing, not get more people doing it.

[DiverDave]

60. Not even listed

altho there is a water tower outside of Amarillo that proclaims that the town is my town, U.S.A.

I met myself, there, same first and last name...sorta spooky.
I called everyone 'cuz' all day.

[DesertRat]

61. Neither my maiden nor married name made this list.

[HughMoran]

62. I'm sure my name wouldn't be in the top 100,000

Some of us our unique and that's good :D

[GreenPartyVoter]

64. My married name is 78. My maiden name is 24. My mother's maiden name doesn't even rate.

[kineneb]

65. none of my family names are there

but I didn't expect them to be...

[pompano]

66. This is cool....

Rolzcxghewviecsvcki-vonHalkieverthachevia were 3rd!

Disclaimer:

I was just jiving. Any names similar or the same is 100% koinci-dental.

[Blue_Tires]

69. "mohammed" and "chang" are a lot lower than i though they'd be

those are the two most common names in the world, iirc (or at least they used to be)

[DRoseDARs]

70. 168 - Down 11 since 1990 n/t