List of most common surnames

Family names can be unique or come in large numbers. In different countries some names are more common than others. This is a listing of common surnames (alphabetical by country names):

Belgium
For the three Regions in Belgium, the most common surnames are:

January 1, 2001 Statistics Belgium, Demographical Statistics. 
 * Date
 * Source

Brazil

 * Acquarone - Italian surname
 * Alberton - French surname
 * Alencar - Portuguese surname
 * Alvin - English surname
 * Álvares - Portuguese surname
 * Amaral - Portuguese surname
 * Andrade - Portuguese surname
 * Antonelli - Italian surname
 * Antunes - Portuguese surname
 * Azevedo - Portuguese surname
 * Baricelli - Italian surname
 * Becker - German surname
 * Bernardes - Portuguese surname
 * Bettencourt - Portuguese surname with ancient French origin
 * Bevilacqua - Italian surname
 * Bianchi - Italian surname
 * Boglietti - Italian surname
 * Buonfiglioli - Italian surname
 * Buongiovanni - Italian surname
 * Borges - Portuguese surname
 * Bourgeois - French surname
 * Branco - Portuguese surname
 * Brito - Portuguese surname
 * Bruno - Portuguese surname
 * Burnier - French surname
 * Buzatto - Italian surname
 * Cabral - Portuguese surname
 * Câmara - Portuguese surname
 * Cardoso - Portuguese surname
 * Carvalho - Portuguese surname
 * Castelli - Italian surname
 * Castro - Portuguese surname
 * Cavalcanti or Cavalcante - Portuguese surname with ancient Italian origin
 * Chaves - Portuguese surname
 * Cicarelli - Italian surname
 * Cisoto - Italian surname
 * Cohen - Jewish surname
 * Costa - Portuguese surname
 * Couto - Portuguese surname
 * Cruz - Portuguese surname
 * Conceição - Portuguese surname
 * Mata - Portuguese surname
 * Jesus - Portuguese surname
 * de Vielmond - French surname
 * del Sarto - Italian surname
 * del Vecchio - Italian surname
 * Dias - Portuguese surname
 * Bosque - Portuguese surname
 * Nascimento - Portuguese surname
 * Passos - Portuguese surname
 * Du Bois - French surname
 * Du Champs - French surname
 * Duris - Fench surname
 * du Vale - French surname
 * Fagundes - Portuguese surname
 * Fernandes - Portuguese surname
 * Ferreira - Portuguese surname
 * Fischer - German surname
 * Garcia - Portuguese surname
 * Giachetto - Italian surname
 * Gianechinni - Italian surname
 * Gil - Portuguese surname
 * Gomes - Portuguese surname
 * Habib - Arabian surname
 * Haddad - Arabian surname
 * Henriques - Portuguese surname
 * Hilbert - German surname
 * Jayme or Jaime - Portuguese surname
 * Jensen - German surname
 * Kalil - Arabian surname
 * Kobayashi - Japanese surname
 * Kozlowski - Slavic surname
 * Kovalic - Slavic surname
 * Kowalsky - Slavic surname
 * Krieger - German surname
 * Levi - Jewish surname
 * Lima - Portuguese surname
 * Lins - Portuguese surname
 * Lira - Portuguese surname
 * Lombardi, derivations like Lombardini, Lombardo, Lombardelli - Italian surname
 * Lopes - Portuguese surname
 * Malfitano - Italian surname
 * Martins - Portuguese surname
 * Matsumoto - Japanese surname
 * Matos - Portuguese surname
 * Mayer - Portuguese surname with ancient German origin
 * Meano - Italian surname
 * Mean - Divine surname
 * Medeiros - Portuguese surname
 * Mendes - Portuguese surname
 * Mendonça - Portuguese surname
 * Menezes - Portuguese surname
 * Meyer - German surname
 * Michel - French surname
 * Michelsen - German surname
 * Moniz or Muniz - Portuguese surname
 * Moraes or Morais - Portuguese surname
 * Moreira - Portuguese surname
 * Moreau- Frecnh surname
 * Moretti - Italian surname
 * Müller - German surname
 * Nakamura - Japanese surname
 * Nakashima - Japanese surname
 * Nakata - Japanese surname
 * Neves - Portuguese surname
 * Nogueira - Portuguese surname
 * Oliveira - Portuguese surname
 * Pai-Teles - Portuguese surname
 * Paixão - Portuguese surname
 * Peltier - French surname
 * Pereira - Portuguese surname
 * Petit - French surname
 * Pinto - Portuguese surname
 * Pires - Portuguese surname
 * Popovic - Slavic surname
 * Rego - Portuguese surname
 * Reis - Portuguese surname
 * Ribeiro - Portuguese surname
 * Ricci - Italian surname
 * Rodrigues - Portuguese surname
 * Rossi - Italian surname
 * Russo - Portuguese surname
 * Sá - Portuguese surname
 * Sanches - Portuguese surname
 * San Girard - French surname
 * Santos - Portuguese surname
 * Sato - Japanese surname
 * Scheidt - German surname
 * Schmidt - German surname
 * Schneider - German surname
 * Schultz - German surname
 * Serrano - Portuguese surname
 * Silva - Portuguese surname
 * Silveira - Portuguese surname
 * Siqueira - Portuguese surname
 * Soares - Portuguese surname
 * Sousa or Souza - Portuguese surname
 * Suzuki - Japanese surname
 * Tavares - Portuguese surname
 * Teixeira - Portuguese surname
 * Tozzi - Italian surname
 * Tucci - Italian surname
 * Valmor - Portuguese surname
 * Valverde - Portuguese surname
 * Van der Ley - Dutch surname
 * Van Helden - Dutch surname
 * Vasconcelos - Portuguese surname
 * Vaz - Portuguese surname
 * Venâncio - Portuguese surname
 * Ventura - Portuguese surname
 * Venturini - Italian surname
 * Vilas Boas - Portuguese surname
 * Vila Lobos - Portuguese surname
 * Vila Nova - Portuguese surname
 * Vila Real - Portuguese surname
 * von Dorff - German surname
 * Wabner - German surname
 * Wagner - German surname
 * Watanabe - Japanese surname
 * Weber - German surname
 * Westphalen - German surname
 * Xavier - Portuguese surname
 * Ximenes - Portuguese surname
 * Yamaguchi - Japanese surname
 * Yamamoto - Japanese surname
 * Zambrotta - Italian surname
 * Zanini - Italian surname
 * Zimmerman - German surname

Most of Brazilian surnames derive from Portuguese surnames. The Portuguese started colonizing Brazil in the 16th century and brought with them many Black African slaves who were forced to work in Sugarcane plantations and other intensive labor activities. Since these slaves were considered property of their masters, they usually adopted their master’s surname, as well as their offspring. When someone's surname was unknown, not verifiable or considered unpronounceable in Portuguese language, their surname was usually registered as "da Costa" when living near the sea coast or "da Silva" (from the forest) if lived inland. The surname "dos Santos" (from the saints) was given to orphan children. This explains why these names (da Costa, da Silva, dos Santos) are so common and why, although the high degree of miscegenation between Portuguese, African and local Indigenous people, Portuguese names are so common. Other common surnames of Portuguese origin, such as Pires, Rodrigues, Lopes, Mendes, Fernandes - notice that they end with -es, not -ez as in Spanish, are also still very common both in Portugal and Brazil. Also many "New Christians" (converted Jews) who adopted names after trees (Pereira, Oliveira), geographic sites (Ribeiro, Matos), or animals (Coelho, Peixe), came from Portugal to Brazil to escape the Inquisition period in Europe - note that these names are not Jewish in origin and are not a sign of Jewish ancestry per se. A new wave of European immigration came to Brazil in the late 19th and 20th centuries, mainly during and after the 1st and 2nd World War, and was primarily composed by Portuguese, Italian, German and Polish searching for better living conditions in the “New World”, as well as Europeans of Jewish origin who were escaping Nazi persecutions.Every country or region has a common surname in Brazil, like the French Bittencourt, Bethencourt, very common in Brazil, but not one of the most commons in France, also the German Fischer, Müller, Schmidt and the Arab surnames Habib and Haddad, meaning Beloved and Smith or the Japanese Suzuki, a kind of tree. The surname divine Mean appeared in Brazil, from the story of a descendant of the family that Meano desvendou the principal secret of the universe, the love. He is one more member of society of love in the humanity history.

Bulgaria

 * Иванов (Ivanov)
 * Петров (Petrov)
 * Георгиев (Georgiev)
 * Димитров (Dimitrov)
 * Стоянов (Stoyanov)
 * Андреев (Andreev)
 * Михайлов (Mihaylov)
 * Николов (Nikolov)
 * Василев (Vassilev)
 * Тодоров (Todorov)

English Canada


Source:

Quebec French Canada
The 50 most popular surnames in Quebec Percentage of total population: 17.82%
 * 1) Tremblay (1.13%)
 * 2) Gagnon (0.82%)
 * 3) Roy (0.77%)
 * 4) Côté (0.74%)
 * 5) Bouchard (0.56%)
 * 6) Gauthier (0.55%)
 * 7) Morin (0.51%)
 * 8) Lavoie (0.49%)
 * 9) Fortin (0.47%)
 * 10) Gagné (0.47%)
 * 11) Pelletier (0.45%)
 * 12) Bélanger (0.44%)
 * 13) Bergeron (0.41%)
 * 14) Lévesque (0.41%)
 * 15) Simard (0.38%)
 * 16) Girard (0.37%)
 * 17) Leblanc (0.37%)
 * 18) Boucher (0.35%)
 * 19) Ouellet (0.34%)
 * 20) Caron (0.32%)
 * 21) Beaulieu (0.31%)
 * 22) Poirier (0.31%)
 * 23) Dubé (0.31%)
 * 24) Cloutier (0.31%)
 * 25) Fournier (0.30%)
 * 26) Lapointe (0.30%)
 * 27) Lefebvre (0.29%)
 * 28) Poulin (0.28%)
 * 29) Nadeau (0.28%)
 * 30) Martin (0.27%)
 * 31) St-Pierre (0.27%)
 * 32) Martel (0.26%)
 * 33) Grenier (0.26%)
 * 34) Landry (0.26%)
 * 35) Lessard (0.26%)
 * 36) Leclerc (0.25%)
 * 37) Bédard (0.25%)
 * 38) Bernier (0.24%)
 * 39) Couture (0.24%)
 * 40) Richard (0.23%)
 * 41) Michaud (0.23%)
 * 42) Desjardins (0.23%)
 * 43) Hébert (0.22%)
 * 44) Blais (0.22%)
 * 45) Turcotte (0.22%)
 * 46) Savard (0.22%)
 * 47) Lachance (0.22%)
 * 48) Parent (0.22%)
 * 49) Demers (0.21%)
 * 50) Gosselin (0.21%)

Sources: Institut de la statistique du Québec, Quelques Statistiques sur les Noms de Famille and Les 1 000 premiers noms de famille selon le rang, Québec

China

 * See also: List of common Chinese surnames

According to the survey conducted by Chinese Academy of Sciences released in January 2006, the top twenty surnames in China are listed as follows.


 * 1) (李) Lǐ
 * 2) (王) Wáng
 * 3) (張) Zhāng
 * 4) (劉) Liú
 * 5) (陳) Chén
 * 6) (楊) Yáng
 * 7) (黃) Huáng
 * 8) (趙) Zhào
 * 9) (周) Zhou
 * 10) (吳) Wú
 * 11) (徐) Xú
 * 12) (孫) Sūn
 * 13) (朱) Zhū
 * 14) (馬) Mǎ
 * 15) (胡) Hu
 * 16) (郭) Guō
 * 17) (林) Lín
 * 18) (何) Hé
 * 19) (高) Gāo
 * 20) (梁) Liáng


 * In a different study (1987) which combined data from China and Taiwan (sample size of 570,000 persons), the outcome was a bit different. The number one Chinese family name was (李) Lǐ at 7.9% of the sample, followed by (王) Wáng at 7.4% and (張) Zhāng at 7.1%; the study showed that the top 19 names covered 55.6% and the top 100 names covered 87% of the sample. Chinese family names distributed differently according to regions. The north was dominated by (李) Lǐ, (王) Wáng, (張) Zhāng, and (劉) Liú; the south was dominated by (陳) Chén, (趙) Zhào, (黃) Huáng, (林) Lín, and (吳) Wú. There were over 450 family names in Beijing, but there were fewer than 300 family names in Guangdong and Fujian. Apparently the distribution of the statistics was significantly affected by the bias from the Taiwanese data.

Croatia

 * 1) Babić
 * 2) Horvat
 * 3) Horvatinčić
 * 4) Perko
 * 5) Kovač
 * 6) Radić
 * 7) Bilić
 * 8) Banić (from old Croatian title Ban)
 * 9) Banović
 * 10) Ravlić
 * 11) Križanić
 * 12) Polančec
 * 13) Pavletić
 * 14) Tomčić
 * 15) Primorac
 * 16) Spinčić
 * 17) Zečić
 * 18) Jurić
 * 19) Jurčić
 * 20) Jurišić
 * 21) Kovačić
 * 22) Bogdanić
 * 23) Vlašić
 * 24) Vlahović
 * 25) Alagić
 * 26) Alapić
 * 27) Pogorelić
 * 28) Petrić
 * 29) Antić
 * 30) Jerković
 * 31) Juriša
 * 32) Klanac
 * 33) Vučetić
 * 34) Vukić
 * 35) Vukčić
 * 36) Vokić
 * 37) Pavičić
 * 38) Špoljarec
 * 39) Anić
 * 40) Aničić
 * 41) Franić
 * 42) Franjić
 * 43) Klanjec
 * 44) Matić
 * 45) Šimić
 * 46) Šimunović
 * 47) Šimatović
 * 48) Mesić
 * 49) Milić
 * 50) Miličić
 * 51) Mlakar
 * 52) Katić
 * 53) Katišić
 * 54) Katičić
 * 55) Jeričević
 * 56) Starčević
 * 57) Mikulanec
 * 58) Mikulan
 * 59) Ranogajec
 * 60) Ranogajac
 * 61) Lučić
 * 62) Lukić
 * 63) Luković
 * 64) Sorić
 * 65) Matanić
 * 66) Matančić
 * 67) Rudić
 * 68) Rudek
 * 69) Rudeković
 * 70) Balog
 * 71) Nazor
 * 72) Suton (means dusk)
 * 73) Sumrak (dusk)
 * 74) Osvit (usually name as well, means dawn)
 * 75) Leš (means corpse)
 * 76) Smrtić (˝smrt˝ menas death, thus Smrtić would mean son of death)
 * 77) Gajić
 * 78) Belostenec
 * 79) Šutalo
 * 80) Tlak (means pressure: atmospheric, blood pressure etc.)
 * 81) Arbutina (Latin, Arbut: small estate)
 * 82) Ivanić (From the name Ivan)
 * 83) Ivanović
 * 84) Ivančić
 * 85) Stipanić (Stipan means Stephen in Croatia; in Croatia the name Stjepan is common as well)
 * 86) Stipančić
 * 87) Stipić
 * 88) Stipanović
 * 89) Milošić
 * 90) Martić
 * 91) Dragišić
 * 92) Strugar
 * 93) Stupar
 * 94) Košar (Koš means a basket; Košar is a craftsman who makes baskets)
 * 95) Sedlar (Sedlo menans saddle; Sedlar is a craftsman who makes saddles)
 * 96) Pernar (Pero (also a short term of Peter in Croatia) means feather, a craftsman or any man that deals with feathers)
 * 97) Krznar (Krzno menas fur; Krznar is a craftsman or any man that deals with fur)
 * 98) Krizmanić (Krizma is one of seven church sacraments)
 * 99) Tudor
 * 100) Mijatović
 * 101) Farkaš
 * 102) Mučnjak
 * 103) Udovičić
 * 104) Tomas
 * 105) Turković
 * 106) Prpić
 * 107) Šantić
 * 108) Šakić
 * 109) Županić (Župan is an old Croatian title still in use)
 * 110) Župančić
 * 111) Sporic
 * 112) Sporicic

Most Croatian names end in "ić", but there are many that end in "ec", "ek" and "ac".

Czech Republic
Feminized names included (m. Novák - f. Nováková).
 * 1) Novák (70 504)
 * 2) Svoboda (52 088)
 * 3) Novotný (49 962)
 * 4) Dvořák (46 099)
 * 5) Černý (36 743)
 * 6) Procházka (33 274)
 * 7) Kučera (31 286)
 * 8) Veselý (26 481)
 * 9) Horák (25 174)
 * 10) Němec (22 795)
 * 11) Marek (22 548)
 * 12) Pokorný (22 203)
 * 13) Pospíšil (22 189)
 * 14) Hájek (21 276)
 * 15) Jelínek (20 733)
 * 16) Král (20 510)
 * 17) Růžička (19846)
 * 18) Beneš (19 600)
 * 19) Fiala (19 121)
 * 20) Sedláček (18 484)

Source: Ministry of Interior (as of 2002).

Denmark
Most popular Danish family names (as of 2004)


 * 1) 303089
 * 2) 296850
 * 3) 248968
 * 4) 186913
 * 5) 172894
 * 6) 133033
 * 7) 129662
 * 8) 124175
 * 9) 104130
 * 10) 98354
 * 11) 92189
 * 12) 70176
 * 13) 65074
 * 14) 54044
 * 15) 40514
 * 16) 40224
 * 17) 34203
 * 18) 33120
 * 19) 31977
 * 20) 31252
 * 21) Midtgaard

The most popular Danish family names all end with "sen", meaning "son". That means, that for example "Jensen" is "son of Jens", "Poulsen" is "son of Poul". An example: if Hans Petersen's father was Peter Sørensen, Hans' father's name was Peter, and his grandfather's Søren. His son would then be (first name) Hansen. This method of naming children was widely used up to the middle of the 19th century. Sometimes it was also common to give to girls names such as "Jensdatter" or "Poulsdatter", meaning daughter of Jens, or daughter of Poul. These names are now seldom seen in Denmark, but still widely known and used in Iceland (where the ending is -dóttir).

Nowadays, the "sen" names have lost their meanings, because women bear them too.

Estonia

 * Saar
 * Tamm
 * Lepik
 * Sepp
 * Karu
 * Mäe
 * Mägi
 * Kukk
 * Kask


 * Estonia People and Culture

Finland
Source: Population Register Centre, 20 June 2005. Percentages are based on the population of Finland on 21 June 2005. Most of the names of this list refer to the living place of the first holder of the name. Virta and Koski refer the original holder has located nearby a river. Mäki = hill, Järvi = lake, Niemi = cape. Hämäläinen means an inhabitant of Häme (Tavastia county). Heikki is a common man's first name.
 * 1) Virtanen - 24,204 (0.461%)
 * 2) Korhonen - 23,721 (0.452%)
 * 3) Nieminen - 21,841 (0.416%)
 * 4) Mäkinen - 21,699 (0.414%)
 * 5) Mäkelä - 19,674 (0.375%)
 * 6) Hämäläinen - 19,518 (0.372%)
 * 7) Laine - 18,908 (0.360%)
 * 8) Koskinen - 18,058 (0.344%)
 * 9) Heikkinen - 17,939 (0.342%)
 * 10) Järvinen - 17,381 (0.331%)

France
Source (2004) :


 * 1) - 235,846 (0.393%) - From Saint Martin, patron saint of France (from Martius, Latin for warrior)
 * 2) - 105,132 (0.175%) - From Saint Bernard, from Germanic for bold as a bear
 * 3) - 95,998 (0.159%) - "From the wood"
 * 4) - 95,387 (0.158%) - From Saint Thomas (Jesus' Disciple), from Hebrew for twin
 * 5) - 91,393 (0.152%) - From Germanic for bright fame
 * 6) - 90,689 (0.151§) - "hard rule"
 * 7) - 88,318 (0.147%) - "Small" (size)
 * 8) - 84,252 (0.140%) - From Durandus (Latin for strong, lasting)
 * 9) - 78,868 (0.131%) - "The King/The winner"
 * 10) - 78,177 (0.130) - Dark complexion (like Maures)
 * 11) - 76,655 (0.127%) - From Saint Simon, from Hebrew for Yehova heard
 * 12) - 75,307 (0.125%) - From Saint Laurent, from Latin laurens, Laurel-crowned
 * 13) - 74,564 (0.124%) - "The smith"
 * 14) - 74,318 (0.123%) - From Saint Michel, from Hebrew for Who is like God
 * 15) - 68,720 (0.114%) - Spanish surname meaning grace
 * 16) - 61,762 (0.103%) - From King David, from Hebrew for Beloved
 * 17) - 59,817 (0.100%) From Germanic for bright and vigorous
 * 18) - 59,440 (0.099%) - "Red-haired"
 * 19) - 57,351 (0.096%) - From Saint Vincent, from Latin vicens, winner
 * 20) - 57,047 (0.095%) - "Baker"
 * 21) - 56,760 (0.095%) - Dark complexion (like Maures)
 * 22) - 55,642 (0.093%) - From Germanic for bold as a spear
 * 23) - 55,228 (0.092%) - From Saint André, from Greek for manly
 * 24) - 53670 (0.089%) - "The smith"
 * 25) - 53622 (0.089%) - "Trader/Shopkeeper"

Germany

 * data from 1995


 * 1) (0.95%)(Miller)
 * 2) (0.69%) (Smith, blacksmith)
 * 3) (0.40%) (Taylor)
 * 4) (0.35%) (Fisher)
 * 5) (0.33%) (from Latin "major", the bigger one, referring to the name-giver's status)
 * 6) (0.30%) (Weaver)
 * 7) (0.27%) (regionally for mayor)
 * 8) (0.27%) (builder of wagons and carriages)
 * 9) (0.27%) (Baker)
 * 10) (0.26%) (owning a farm)
 * 11) (0.18%) (owning a farm of a certain size called Hube)
 * 12) (Small, Short)

Most of the names of this list refer to the occupation of the first holder of the name.

Greece

 * 1) Papadopoulos (means son of the priest)
 * 2) Brakus (latinized version of Greek Brakys, meaning short)

Hungary

 * 1) (244663; big, cf., , )
 * 2) (228274; smith, cf., )
 * 3) (223291; Slovak/Slav)
 * 4) (217066; tailor, cf., , )
 * 5) (Horvát) (201524; Croatian)
 * 6) (Kis) (139919; small, cf., , )
 * 7) (137398; shoemaker, cf., person working with leather)
 * 8) (112878; miller, cf., )
 * 9)  (97715; German, cf., )
 * 10) (83755; , cf. )
 * 11) (79653; left-handed, unskillful)
 * 12) (56235; priest)
 * 13) (55180; weaver, cloth-maker, cf., )
 * 14) (54267; shepherd, cf., )
 * 15) (42738; butcher, cf., , , )
 * 16) (41005; locksmith)
 * 17) (39881; )
 * 18) (37147; Vlach, Romanian)
 * 19) (34755; black, cf., , )
 * 20) (34518; Serbian)
 * 21) (32628; from Szilágy county)
 * 22) (27262; white, cf., , )
 * 23) (Gaál) (26557; )
 * 24) (26158; )

Notes:
 * The above is official data of the Central Personal Data Processing Office at Hungary's Ministry of Interior in 1998 via.
 * Beside the names, the number of their owners and their meaning is given. (Note that Hungarian surnames often show archaic spelling and occasionally employ obsolete words, especially for nationalities like tót or rác.)
 * In Hungary, the surname is placed first (see Eastern order).


 * 1) Another common Hungarian surname - not verified.


 * India


 * Aggarwal
 * Amin
 * Bhati
 * Chauhan
 * Desai
 * Dutt
 * Gupta
 * Iyer
 * Jain
 * Joshi
 * Kulkarni
 * Kumar
 * Khatri
 * Laghari
 * Manghirmalani
 * Mukherjee
 * Nair
 * Pandit
 * Patel
 * Rao
 * Reddy
 * Sawhney
 * Saigal
 * Shah
 * Sharma
 * Singh
 * Tiwari
 * Tyagi
 * Aggrawal
 * agarwal
 * bains
 * kaith
 * kanth
 * Verma
 * Varma
 * Sarma
 * Baag
 * Gill
 * Ahuja
 * Bachan
 * Sehgal
 * Lyer
 * Shroff
 * Shetty
 * Setty
 * Arora
 * Mehra
 * Sekhon
 * Grover
 * Boparai
 * Walia
 * By Garry Mrjin Visiter

Ireland

 * top 20.



Names starting with O' are patronymic.

Israel

 * 1) Cohen (כהן)
 * 2) Levi (לוי) (sometimes spelled Levy)
 * 3) Beth'-el: the name means House of God. Jacob, after he wrestled with an angel, changed the name of the place Luz to Bethel because "God is in this place." See Genesis 35:15


 * The name Cohen belongs to the members of the ancient family of priests (Kohanim, descendants of Aaron). The name Levi belongs to the members of the family of Levites, descendants of Levi.

Italy
Source:


 * 1) - Red (hair, complexion; common in North and Central Italy)
 * 2) - same as the above, but with the stem vowel changed according to the rules of southern Italian metaphony
 * 3) - Smith (common in North Italy)
 * 4) - Exposed (abandoned child; common in South Italy)
 * 5) - White (complexion, hair, house; common in North Italy))
 * 6) - Italian for Roman (common in South Italy)
 * 7) - Italian for dove and also abandoned child (common in North Italy)
 * 8) - Curly (common in South Italy)
 * 9) - Marine (near the sea; common in South Italy)
 * 10) - Greek (common in South Italy)
 * 11) - Brown (hair, complexion; common in South Italy)
 * 12) - Gaul or chicken (common in North and Central Italy)
 * 13) - Count (nobleman; common in North and Central Italy)
 * 14) - From/of Luke (common in South Italy)
 * 15) - Coast (near the sea or from a place named Costa; common in North and Central Italy)
 * 16) - Jordan (surname; common in the whole country)
 * 17) - Lefthanded (common in Central Italy)
 * 18) - Curly (hair; common in South Italy)
 * 19) - From Lombardy (common in the whole country)
 * 20) - From the latin surname Morus (common in North and Central Italy)
 * 21) - From Sardinia (also spread in Lazio and Piedmont)

Japan
Main article: Japanese name

The most common names from Tokyo northwards are Sato and Suzuki; the most common names from Kyoto and Osaka southwards are Yamamoto and Tanaka. (A list of the most common family names in all of Japan is at http://www.japanese-name-translation.com/site/top500_Japanese_family_names.xls)

The most common names in Tokyo are:


 * 1) (佐藤) Satō
 * 2) (鈴木) Suzuki
 * 3) (高橋) Takahashi
 * 4) (田中) Tanaka
 * 5) (渡辺) Watanabe
 * 6) (伊藤) Itō
 * 7) (山本) Yamamoto
 * 8) (中村) Nakamura
 * 9) (小林) Kobayashi
 * 10) (斎藤) Saitō
 * 11) (加藤) Katō
 * 12) (吉田) Yoshida
 * 13) (山田) Yamada
 * 14) (佐々木) Sasaki
 * 15) (山口) Yamaguchi
 * 16) (松本) Matsumoto
 * 17) (井上) Inoue
 * 18) (木村) Kimura
 * 19) (林) Hayashi
 * 20) (清水) Shimizu
 * 21) (青木) Aoki

Korea
Main article: List of Korean family names


 * 1) 김 (金; Kim, Gim)
 * 2) 이 (李; Lee, Yi, I)
 * 3) 박 (朴; Park, Pak, Bak)
 * 4) 최 (崔; Choi, Choe)
 * 5) 정 (鄭; Jung, Chung, Jeong)
 * 6) 강 (姜; Gang, Kang)
 * 7) 조 (趙 or 曹; Cho, Jo)
 * 8) 윤 (尹; Yoon, Yun)
 * 9) 장 (張; Jang, Chang)
 * 10) 임 (林; Lim, Im)
 * 11) 한 (韓; Han)
 * 12) 신 (申; Shin, Sin)
 * 13) 서 (徐; Suh, Seo)
 * 14) 권 (權; Kwon, Gwon)
 * 15) 손 (孫; Son)
 * 16) 황 (黃; Whang, Hwang)
 * 17) 송 (宋; Song)
 * 18) 안 (安; Ahn, An)
 * 19) 유 (柳 or 劉; Yoo, Yu)
 * 20) 홍 (洪; Hong)

Korean surnames have a variety of ways of being romanized.

Latvia

 * 1) Bērziņš (Berzinsh)
 * 2) Kalniņš (Kalninsh)
 * 3) Ozoliņš (Ozolinsh)
 * 4) Jansons (Jansons)
 * 5) Ozols (Ozols)
 * 6) Liepiņš (Liepinsh)
 * 7) Krūmiņš (Kruminsh)
 * 8) Balodis (Balodis)
 * 9) Eglītis (Eglitis)
 * 10) Zariņš (Zarinsh)
 * 11) Pētersons (Petersons)
 * 12) Vītols (Vitols)
 * 13) Kļaviņš (Klavinsh)
 * 14) Kārkliņš (Karklinsh)
 * 15) Vanags (Vanags)
 * 16) Zelmenis (Vanags)

First three literally translated - the diminutive forms of birch, hill and oak. Source - the Latvian Institute

Lithuania
Note: Lithuanian language has different endings for surnames for men and women. The ending of a woman's surname indicates whether she is married or not. Last names of married women end in -ienė while those of unmarried girls end in -ytė, -iūtė, -utė, -aitė.

Source: The Interesting Statistics, Department of Statistics to the Government of the Republic of Lithuania (Statistics Lithuania), 2005.

Malta
Sources :


 * 1) Borg (11,868) - From the Sicilian city of Burgi or from Sant'Ambrogio
 * 2) Camilleri (10,771) - Son of Camillus, second founder of Rome after the Gauls invasion (367 BC) or from 'cammelo' Italian for camel(animal)
 * 3) Vella (10,318) - From 'bella' Italian for beautiful or from 'vela' Italian sails
 * 4) Farrugia (9,778) - From 'farrug' Arabic for turkey (animal)
 * 5) Zammit (8,382) - Maybe from a Hebrew word meaning peaceful
 * 6) Galea (7,442) - galley (ship)
 * 7) Micallef (7,166) - Maybe from the name Mikali (Michael) or from 'mħallef', the Maltese word for judge (profession)
 * 8) Grech (6,740) - From 'Graecus' Latin for Greek
 * 9) Attard (6,453) - From 'attar' Arabic for pharmacist/physician
 * 10) Spiteri (6,391) - Alteration of 'Hospitalieri', used for abandoned children (near the Knights' Hospital)
 * 11) Cassar (5,985) - Maybe meaning castle keeper (Latin origin) or barber (Arabic origin)
 * 12) Azzopardi (5,905) - Derived from 'A Safardi', meaning 'A Jew coming from Spain'
 * 13) Mifsud (5,707) - Jewish surname
 * 14) Caruana (5,577) - From Kairouan in Tunisia, a name which in turn is derived from the Persian word Kârawân Etymology of 'caravan'
 * 15) Muscat (5,288) - From Muscat in Oman or from Muscat grape
 * 16) Agius (4,944) - Maybe from Greek Holy or maybe from Maltese old man or maybe referring to a pilgrim to Mecca
 * 17) Schembri (4,226) - Greek surname
 * 18) Abela (4,117) -
 * 19) Fenech (4,111) - Maybe from 'fenek' Maltese for rabbit or from 'Fenici' meaning Phoenicians
 * 20) Pace (4,017) - From 'pace' Italian for peace

Mexico
Martinez Gonzalez Rodriguez Cruz


 * 1) (8.50%)
 * 2) (8.14%)
 * 3) (7.14%)
 * 4) (7.09%)
 * 5) (7.06%)

Source: GARCÍA, Miriam Para regios...los Martínez Periódico El Norte 18 de marzo de 2003.

The Netherlands
The most recent complete count of surnames in the Netherlands is based on the 1947 census. Although this data is now dated, the relative positions of these surnames will probably not have changed much.

May 31, 1947 Nederlands Repertorium van Familienamen, Meertens-Instituut, 1963-1988. Data can be viewed in the Database of Surnames in the Netherlands
 * Date
 * Source

Norway
Names ending in sen are originally patronymic.
 * 1) (meaning son of Hans (Hans' son)) (1.31%)
 * 2) (1.21%)
 * 3) (1.21%)
 * 4) (0.90%)
 * 5) (0.88%)
 * 6) (0.83%)
 * 7) (0.82%)
 * 8) (0.55%)
 * 9) (0.54%)
 * 10) (0.50%)
 * 11) (0.48%)
 * 12) (0.47%)
 * 13) (0.44%)
 * 14) (meaning hill or mount) (0.41%)
 * 15) (meaning hill) (0.32%)
 * 16) (meaning garden [usually derived from names of homesteads)] (0.32%)
 * 17) (0.31%)
 * 18) (0.28%)
 * 19) (0.27%)
 * 20) (0.27%)

Source: Statistics Norway: Name statistics

Pakistan

 * Zugaj - Polish wioskija Ugaje
 * Afridi - Pashtoon surname
 * Agha - Persian surname
 * Alvi - Arabic surname
 * Awan - Punjabi surname
 * Baloch - Balochi surname
 * Baqri - Arabic surname
 * Bhatti - Punjabi surname
 * Bilgrami - Indian surname
 * Bughti - Balochi surname
 * Butt - Punjabi surname
 * Chaudhri - Punjabi surname
 * Edhi - Indian surname
 * Farooqi - Arabic surname
 * Jaffri - Arabic surname
 * Kalpar - Balochi surname
 * Khan - Pashtoon surname
 * Moosvi - Arabic surname
 * Kazmi - Arabic surname
 * Laghari - Balochi surname (the largest tribe in Pakistan)
 * Mangel - Balochi surname
 * Mari - Balochi surname
 * Masori - Balochi surname
 * Mir - Persian surname
 * Mirza - Persian surname
 * Memon - Indian surname
 * Naqvi - Arabic surname
 * Niazi - Pashtoon surname
 * Panjwani - Persian surname
 * Pirvani - Persian surname
 * Qadri - Persian surname
 * Qasoori - Punjabi surname
 * Rajput - Punjabi surname
 * Rao - Punjabi surname
 * Rehmani - Persian surname
 * Rizvi - Arabic surname
 * Saigal - Indian surname
 * Shah - Punjabi surname
 * Sheikh - Arabic surname
 * Siddiqui - Arabic surname
 * Singh - Punjabi surname
 * Soomro - Sindhi surname
 * Taqvi - Arabic surname
 * Usmani - Arabic surname
 * Wasti - Arabic surname
 * Zaidi - Arabic surname
 * Zugi - Punjabi surname

Poland
See also: Polish surnames


 * 1) Nowak (203,506; from nowy "new")
 * 2) Kowalski (139,719; from kowal "smith")
 * 3) Wiśniewski (109,855; from wiśnia "cherry")
 * 4) Wójcik (99,509; from wójt, a noun describing chief officer of a group of a villages)
 * 5) Kowalczyk (97,796, from kowalek "smithy")
 * 6) Kamiński (94,499; from kamień "stone")
 * 7) Lewandowski (92,449; from lewantyna "Levantine")
 * 8) Zieliński (91,043; from zielony "green")
 * 9) Szymański (89,091; from Szymon, equivalent to Simon)
 * 10) Woźniak (88,039; from woźny, "apparitor")
 * 11) Dąbrowski (86,132; from dąb "oak tree")
 * 12) Kozłowski (75,962; from kozioł "goat")
 * 13) Jankowski (68,514; from Janek, equivalent to John)
 * 14) Nowaczek (66,773; from diminutive of nowy "new")
 * 15) Wojciechowski (66,361; from the name Wojciech)
 * 16) Kwiatkowski (66,017; from kwiat "flower")
 * 17) Krawczyk (64,048; from diminutive of "tailor")
 * 18) Kaczmarek (61,816; from composition of kacz "duck" and the name Marek)
 * 19) Piotrowski (61,380; from Piotr, equivalent to Peter)
 * 20) Bagiński (60,492; from baginiak "master")
 * 21) Grabowski (58,393; from grab "hornbeam")


 * Source: Zawadzki J.M, 2002, 1000 Najpopularniejszych nazwisk w Polsce [1000 of the most popular names in Poland], Warsaw: Świat Książki

Portugal
Family names ending in -es are typically, bur not always patronymic. Surnames that are also names of trees, like Pereira  or Oliveira were massively adopted by Jewish converts during the Portuguese Inquisition. Though many Portuguese people with such names can claim Jewish ancestry, the surname is not a proof per se.
 * Aboim - name of a village in northern Portugal
 * Abreu - name of an ancient feudal land in northern Portugal
 * Aguiar, Aguilar - name of a ancient feudal land in northern Portugal, taken from águia (eagle)
 * Albuquerque - name of a ancient Portuguese town (now in Spain)
 * Almada - name of a Portuguese town
 * Almeida - name of a Portuguese town
 * Álvares - son of Álvaro
 * Amaral - name of an ancient feudal land in central Portugal
 * Andrade - name of several localities in Portugal and Galicia
 * Antunes - son of Antão/António (Antony)
 * Arca - name of a village in southern Portugal
 * Ataíde - name of a village and feudal land in northern Portugal
 * Azevedo - name of a feudal land in northern Portugal
 * Barreto -
 * Betencourt, Bitencourt, Bethancourt - surname of French origin, taken from Bettencourt
 * Borges
 * Branco - white
 * Braga - name of a Portuguese city
 * Brito - name of a parish in northern Portugal
 * Cabral - goat herd
 * Câmara - chamber
 * Carvalho - oak
 * Castelo Branco, Castel-Branco - name of a Portuguese city (literally white castle)
 * Castro - castle
 * Cavalcante, Cavalcanti - surname of Italian origin
 * Cerveira - name of a Portuguese town (Vila Nova de Cerveira), taken from cerva (hart)
 * Chaves - name of a Portuguese city
 * Coelho - rabbit
 * Corrêa, Correia - leather strap
 * Corte-Real - royal court
 * Costa, da Costa - coast, from the coast
 * Coutinho - diminutive of Couto
 * Couto - feudal land or game reservation
 * Cunha - wedge
 * Dias - son of Diogo (Diego)
 * Domingues - son of Domingo
 * Eça
 * Esteves - son of Estevão (Steven)
 * Faria - name of a parish in northern Portugal
 * Fernandes - son of Fernão/ Fernando (Ferdinand)
 * Ferreira - blacksmith woman
 * Figueira - fig tree
 * Gama - female hart
 * Goios
 * Gois - name of a Portuguese town
 * Gomes - son of Gome
 * Gonçalves - son of Gonçalo
 * Gouveia - name of a Portuguese town
 * Henriques - son of Henrique (Henry)
 * Lemos -
 * Lima - name of a Portuguese river and of a town (Ponte de Lima)
 * Lobato - young wolf
 * Lobo - wolf
 * Lopes - son of Lopo
 * Malafaia
 * Manuel - proper name
 * Marques - son of Marco/Marcos
 * Martins - son of Martinho (Martin)
 * Mascarenhas - name of a village in northern Portugal
 * Mata, da Mata - wood, from the wood
 * Medeiros
 * Meira - name of a Galician town
 * Melo - simplification of melro (blackbird)
 * Mendes - son of Mendo
 * Mendonça - surname of Basque origin, taken from the city of Mendoza
 * Menezes, Meneses
 * Miranda - name of several localities in Portugal
 * Moniz - son of Moninho
 * Moreira - name of a village in northern Portugal
 * Moura - name of a Portuguese town
 * Mota - surname of French origin, taken from Motte (mount)
 * Neves, das Neves - the snows, from the snows
 * Nogueira - walnut
 * Noronha
 * Nunes - son of Nuno
 * Oliveira - olive tree
 * Pacheco
 * Pessanha - surname of Italian origin, taken from Pezagno
 * Pinto - young rooster
 * Pires,Peres - son of Pêro/ Pedro (Peter)
 * Pereira, Pereiro - pear tree
 * Reis, dos Reis - kings, from the kings
 * Rego - small river
 * Ribeiro - small river
 * Rocha, da Rocha - rock, from the Rock
 * Rodrigues - son of Rodrigo (Roderic)
 * Sampaio - name of an ancient feudal land in northern Portugal
 * Sanches - son of Sancho
 * Santos, dos Santos - saints, from the saints
 * Silva, da Silva - jungle, from the jungle
 * Sequeira, Siqueira
 * Serpa - name of a Portuguese town
 * Soares - son of Sueiro
 * Sotomaior, Sotomayor
 * Sousa - name of an ancient feudal land in northern Portugal
 * Tavares - name of an ancient feudal land in central Portugal
 * Távora - name of a Portuguese smal river
 * Teixeira - name of a village in northern Portugal
 * Valente - valiant, brave
 * Vasconcelos - name of an ancient feudal land in northern Portugal
 * Vasques - Son of Vasco
 * Vieira - shell

For an exaustive listing of Portuguese family names see this genealogical site

Romania

 * 1) Popa (191,938 persons; Slavic, "pop" - "priest")
 * 2) Popescu (147,784 persons; "Son of the Priest", Slavic root "pop" - "priest"
 * 3) Ionescu ("Son of John")
 * 4) Şerban
 * 5) Matei ("Matthew")
 * 6) Stoica
 * 7) Gheorghe ("George")
 * 8) Constantin ("Constantine")
 * 9) Stan ("Stan")
 * 10) Dumitrescu ("Son of Demetrius")
 * 11) Mihai ("Michael")
 * 12) Ioniţă ("Johnny")
 * 13) Dumitru ("Demetrius")
 * 14) Dinu ("Constantine")
 * 15) Tudor ("Theodor")
 * 16) Dobre (Slavic root "dobro" - "good")
 * 17) Barbu ("Bearded one")
 * 18) Ştefan ("Stephan")
 * 19) Florea ("Flower")
 * 20) Ene (variation of "Ion" - John)
 * 21) Vasile ("Basil")
 * 22) Marin ("Marinus")
 * 23) Ghiţă ("Georgie")
 * 24) Georgescu ("Son of George")

Russia
Per Boris Unbegaun of the Oxford University:


 * 1) Иванов (Ivanov) - "son of John"
 * 2) Васильев (Vasilyev) - "son of Basil"
 * 3) Петров (Petrov) - "son of Peter"
 * 4) Смирнов (Smirnov) - "son of a quiet man"
 * 5) Михайлов (Mikhailov) - "son of Michael"
 * 6) Федоров (Fyodorov) - "son of Theodor"
 * 7) Соколов (Sokolov) - "son of a falcon"
 * 8) Яковлев (Yakovlev) - "son of Jacob"
 * 9) Попов (Popov) - "son of a pop (Orthodox priest)"
 * 10) Андреев (Andreyev) - "son of Andrew"

Note that in Russian, women's surnames must have an "a" attached to the end.

Serbia

 * Petrović (Петровић)
 * Jovanović (Јовановић)
 * Marković (Марковић)
 * Knežević (Кнежевић)
 * Popović (Поповић)
 * Nikolić (Николић)
 * Vuković (Вуковић)
 * Živković (Живковић)
 * Đorđević (Ђорђевић)
 * Lukić (Лукић)
 * Marić (Марић)
 * Janković (Јанковић)
 * Milovanović (Миловановић)
 * Ilić (Илић)
 * Obradović (Обрадовић)
 * Aleksić (Алексић)
 * Gavrilović (Гавриловић)
 * Davidović (Давидовић)
 * Đurović (урови)
 * Despot (Ђовићић)
 * Stevanović (Стевановић)
 * Stefanović (Стефановић)
 * Radović (Радовић)
 * Stojanović (Стојановић)
 * Jelić (Јелић)
 * Božović (Божовић)

Spain

 * Source: - Data from December 1999.


 * 1) García - 1,378,000 people (3.48%) (Of Iberian origin, meaning Grace)
 * 2) Fernández - 851,000 (2.15%) (Son of Fernando)
 * 3) González - 839,000 (2.12%) (Son of Gonzalo)
 * 4) Rodríguez - 804,000 (2.03%) (Son of Rodrigo)
 * 5) López - 796,000 (2.01%) (Son of Lope)
 * 6) Martínez - 788,000 (1.97%) (Son of Martin)
 * 7) Sánchez - 725,000 (1.83%) (Son of Sancho)
 * 8) Pérez - 709,000 (1.79%) (Son of Peter)
 * 9) Martín - 459,000 (1.16%) (Martin)
 * 10) Gómez - 440,000 (1.11%) (Son of Gome)
 * 11) Ruiz - 321,000 (0.81%) (Son of Rui)
 * 12) Hernández - 305,000 (0.77%) (Son of Hernando, Fernando)
 * 13) Jiménez - 293,000 (0.74%) (Son of Jimeno)
 * 14) Díaz - 293,000 (0.74%) (Son of Jacob)
 * 15) Álvarez - 273,000 (0.69%) (Son of Alvaro)
 * 16) Moreno - 261,000 (0.66%) (Brown-haired, tanned)
 * 17) Muñoz - 241,000 (0.61%) (Son of Muño)
 * 18) Alonso - 206,000 (0.52%) (Son of Alfonso)
 * 19) Gutiérrez - 170,000 (0.43%) (Son of Walter, from Germanic Walthari meaning king)
 * 20) Romero - 170,000 (0.43%) (Rosemary)
 * 21) Navarro - 158,400 (0.40%) (Navarrese, from Navarra)
 * 22) Torres - 134,600 (0.34%) (Towers)
 * 23) Domínguez - 134,600 (0.34%) (Son of Domingos)
 * 24) Gil - 134,600 (0.34%) (Patronimic; from older form Hermenegildo)
 * 25) Vázquez - 130,000 (0.33%) (Son of Velasco)
 * 26) Serrano - 122,700 (0.31%) (Mountain Dweller)
 * 27) Ramos - 118,000 (0.30%) (Branches)
 * 28) Blanco - 118,000 (0.30%) (White)
 * 29) Sanz - 106,900 (0.27%) (Saxon)
 * 30) Castro - 102,900 (0.26%) (Castle, hamlet, castro)
 * 31) Suárez - 102,900 (0.26%) (Son of Suero)
 * 32) Ortega - 99,000 (0.25%) (A type of bird)
 * 33) Rubio - 99,000 (0.25%) (Blonde)
 * 34) Molina - 99,000 (0.25%) (Mill)
 * 35) Delgado - 95,000 (0.24%) (Thin)
 * 36) Ramírez - 95,000 (0.24%) (Son of Ramiro)
 * 37) Morales - 95,000 (0.24%) (Morals)
 * 38) Ortiz - 87,120 (0.22%) (Son of Ortún; ultimately from Latin Fortunatus, meaning fortunate one)
 * 39) Marín - 83,160 (0.21%) (Seaman)
 * 40) Iglesias - 83,160 (0.21%) (Churches)

Family names ending in -ez are typically patronymic

Singapore
Popular Chinese surnames - based on a paper published by Statistics Singapore, 2000
 * 1) Tan 陈 (陳)
 * 2) Lim 林
 * 3) Lee 李
 * 4) Ng 吳
 * 5) Ong 王
 * 6) Wong 黃
 * 7) Goh 吳
 * 8) Chua 蔡
 * 9) Chan 陈 (陳)
 * 10) Koh 许 (許)
 * 11) Teo 张 (張)
 * 12) Ang 洪
 * 13) Yeo 杨 (楊)
 * 14) Tay 郑 (鄭)
 * 15) Ho 何
 * 16) Low 刘 (劉)
 * 17) Toh 桌
 * 18) Sim 沈
 * 19) Chong 张 (張)
 * 20) Chia 谢(謝)

Slovenia

 * Novak
 * Horvat
 * Krajnc
 * Kovačič
 * Zupančič
 * Kovač
 * Potočnik
 * Mlakar
 * Vidmar
 * Golob
 * awan

Somalia
List of the top Somalian names.


 * Abdikarím (Gods chosen one)
 * Shire (Delegator)
 * Gullét (Victorious)
 * Ibráhim (Form of Abraham)
 * Dalmar (Desert dweller)
 * Sharmáke (Peacefull)
 * Suléman (form of solomon)
 * Rahim (mercy)
 * Farhan (Very Happy)
 * Feisal,Féysal
 * Ellyas
 * Sonári
 * Gallárdi
 * Kadér
 * Zakaria
 * Adam
 * Mahad
 * Said
 * Maslah
 * Bille
 * Sadiq
 * Dáhir
 * Warsamé
 * Jamać
 * Fárah
 * Gallât
 * Koshin
 * Khalif
 * Ćawil
 * Nassér
 * Samatar
 * Jimále
 * Ćigál
 * Ćisman
 * Gadíd
 * Libán
 * Mahamud
 * Osman
 * Imrân
 * Abdálle
 * Yusuf
 * Yasín
 * Khalid
 * Ismaél
 * Salém
 * Sabriye
 * Haláne
 * Mahdi
 * Sharíf
 * Shirwać
 * Jibríl
 * Yónis
 * Sálax
 * Róblé
 * Hanad
 * Adnán
 * Daúd
 * LuQman

Sri Lanka

 * Corea
 * De Silva
 * De Soysa
 * Fernando
 * Gunawardena
 * Jayasuriya
 * Liyanage
 * Perera
 * Ranatunga

Sweden

 * official statistics


 * (3.3%)
 * (3.2%)
 * (2.5%)
 * (2.2%)
 * (1.7%)
 * (1.6%)
 * (1.4%)
 * (1.4%)
 * (1.3%)
 * (0.90%)
 * (0.83%)
 * (0.72%)
 * (0.63%)
 * (0.54%)
 * (0.42%)
 * (0.42%)
 * (0.37%)
 * (0.34%)
 * (0.32%)
 * (0.32%)
 * (0.31%)
 * (0.30%)

The most common names in Sweden are originally patronymic, which means that the son of e.g. Karl received the surname Karlsson (Karl's son). The daughter received the name Karlsdotter (Karl's daughter). Since the 19th century these names are inherited exactly as in e.g. USA or the United Kingdom and women also receive "son-names". Compare this with the "mac-names" in Scotland. Even though these "son-names" are the most common names in Sweden, a majority of the Swedes have other family names consisting of two random items from nature, for example Lindberg (linden/lime mountain), Bergkvist (mountain twig), Alström/Ahlström (alder stream). A very good example of the randomness of these nature-names is the surname Dalberg, meaning literally, "valley mountain". Other names like Sjöman (Seaman) and Nyman (Newman) contain professions and adjectives. Because of the greater diversity of these names each specific name is less common than most "son-names". Given the large quantity of citizens of foreign heritage it is a matter of time before their surnames will be present high up in the official statistics, especially when grouped together instead of listed as separate surnames because of slightly different spelling or omitted umlauts etc. Persons with ancestors of noble origin in Sweden often, but not always, have surnames referring to their coat of arms or non-Swedish names.

England, Wales and Isle of Man
The following list is for England, Wales, and the Isle of Man, and is based on a survey of the National Health Service Central Register.
 * 1) (1.15%)
 * 2) (0.94%)
 * 3) (0.66%)
 * 4) (0.53%)
 * 5) (0.51%)
 * 6) (0.48%)
 * 7) (0.39%)
 * 8) (0.35%)
 * 9) (0.35%)
 * 10) (0.34%)
 * 11) (0.33%)
 * 12) (0.29%)
 * 13) (0.28%)
 * 14) (0.28%)
 * 15) (0.27%)
 * 16) (0.27%)
 * 17) (0.27%)
 * 18) (0.26%)
 * 19) (0.25%)
 * 20) (0.25%)
 * 21) (0.25%)
 * 22) (0.25%)
 * 23) (0.24%)
 * 24) (0.24%)
 * 25) (0.24%)

Scotland
From, which also gives frequencies, provides a list of the top 100 and some regional variations.



Northern Ireland
The Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) has released a list of the top three most common surnames. The list is expected to be expanded in January 2007.



United States
According to 1990 U.S. Census data, the top twenty surnames in the U.S. (with percentage of population) are:


 * 1) (1.006%)
 * 2) (0.810%)
 * 3) (0.699%)
 * 4) (0.621%)
 * 5) (0.621%)
 * 6) (0.580%)
 * 7) (0.424%)
 * 8) (0.339%)
 * 9) (0.312%)
 * 10) (0.311%)
 * 11) (0.311%)
 * 12) (0.311%)
 * 13) (0.310%)
 * 14) (0.279%)
 * 15) (0.275%)
 * 16) (0.273%)
 * 17) (0.269%)
 * 18) (0.254%)
 * 19) (0.234%)
 * 20) (0.233%)


 * The distribution reflects the history of immigration into the country. Many immigrants from non-English-speaking countries Anglicized their names. Good examples of this are the popular Swedish name ' which was frequently changed to ', and the German ' which became '. Some very common Swedish names were so similar that only a minor change of spelling was necessary, such as ' and ', which is why these names are much more common in the U.S. than in the United Kingdom. Slavery also had an effect; names such as Jackson, Harris, Davis, Brown, and Jones are common among African Americans, since slaves tended to be given their owners' surnames.

ajax name search of the SSDI http://surnamecheck.com

Vietnam

 * See Vietnamese name

Họ Và Tên Người Việt Nam ("Vietnamese Family and Personal Names"), compiled by Professor Le Trung Hoa, Social Sciences Publishing House (2005)
 * Source