America's Most Common Last Names Explained

In this video, we look at the most common surnames of the United States and discuss their meaning and origins.
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The following music performed by Kevin Macleod Available under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.
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Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in G, Movement I (Allegro), BWV 1049 [orig. by JS Bach]
Works Cited
[1] United States Census Bureau. “Frequently Occuring Surnames From the 2010 Census.” United States Census Bureau, 2010.
www.census.gov...
[2] Hanks, Patrick, editor. “Dictionary of American Family Names”. Oxford University Press, 2003. archive.org/de...
[3] Smith, Eldson C. “New Dictionary of American Family Names.” Harper & Row Publishers, 1972. archive.org/de...
[4] Robb, H. Amanda, Andrew Chesler. “Encylopedia of American Family Names.” Harper Collins Publishers, 1995.archive.org/de...
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[@miriambertram2448]

Surnames in England became more common in 13th century due to Plague. More movement from decimated villages to cities increased the need to distinguish among folks with same first name

[@partydean17]

So villagers themselves actually didn't name everyone william? I always thought it weird in modern times we would make an effort not to name a baby something one of our friends or neighbors just named their baby but I figured medieval people only had a few names and the names brought to them by the church.

[@TaRAAASHBAGS]

Moving INTO cities as a response to plague??

[@RestitutorEuropa]

Except the plague didn’t happen in the 13th century it happened in the 14th century.

[@standingbear998]

the plague is a joke

[@mjinba07]

@@RestitutorEuropaTrue, the Bubonic Plague recurred a number of times in various locations throughout the 14th century. Confusing xx00's (1400's, etc.) with xx-th century is a common mistake. Good to point out. So many people take anything they hear on social media as fact, regardless of its source, and never think to check reliable sources. FYI, plagues in Europe are documented as far back as the 6th century.

[@hectorsmommy1717]

The most common last name in the US is Smith and the most common first name among the Smiths is James. I had an uncle named James Smith and he once got invited to a gathering for all of the James Smiths in Iowa. I forget how many went but he said it was crowded.

[@jaythomaso9311]

"Same name conventions" is something I didn't realize I needed to exist lol

[@weejackrussell]

Smith is also the most common name in England*. Schmidt (and other versions of it) is the second most common surname in Germany too. (*Note it's not the most common surname in other parts of the UK e.g it's Jones in Wales).

[@TheWindcrow]

Looking for James surname. Most times it's not mentioned >

[@tylertate3584]

The skits at the end actually always make me laugh. This man loves two things: history and shitposting. I respect that

[@andrewvanorden2336]

I also respect that

[@PaszerDye]

always?

[@wordytoed9887]

Lmao make your way to the front and a cashier will assist you

[@greenerpastures0925]

Interesting about the Smith name. I always thought there were more Smiths because while everyone else had to go to war, smithys did not see much actual battle because they had to stay back to forge weapons/armour. Thus they were more likely to survive and pass their surname along.

[@rigelbound6749]

Deaths in medieval wars were WAY less common than what popular culture suggests

[@57WillysCJ]

Smith is more common as there were a lot of smiths, not just blacksmiths. Tinsmith, coppersmith, silversmith, goldsmith are just three. It more than likely applied to their assistants and apprentices after a while.

[@EvelynElaineSmith]

@@57WillysCJ ~ And it's a great name to adopt if you want to hide your original identity, although as far as I can tell my branch of the Smiths have been around since the original settlement of New England.

[@carlorizzo827]

Uh hunh,...fascinating, love language. In Italian, Tagliaferro

[@charlayned]

@@EvelynElaineSmith Mine came out of North Carolina, Revolutionary war is as far back as I have due to the crazy mess with the name. For awhile I had my granny's family coming out of Missouri, which was the wrong Smiths in the little Indian Territory Ok settlement that she came from. Her father was born in Georgia, the family two generations out from North Carolina. And the Brown is just as hard to follow.

[@OzSteve9801]

In old English, smith also meant someone who made things and wasn't restricted to metals. Watchsmith and leathersmith are good examples. This would also explain how so many people were called Smith.

[@MlewIs-qr5ot]

Locksmith or Gunsmith

[@ryandegrave8978]

The word "smith" actually comes from Middle English. In Old English, the word was "smid." Also, Old English was out of use for centuries before the first watch was invented.

[@fredkelly6953]

Add to that apprentices adopting the name and a good percentage of the town would be smiths.

[@BillGreenAZ]

@@fredkelly6953, I'm wondering if they originally had long names like Goldsmith, Silversmith, etc. and nlater shortened them.

[@mikespearwood3914]

@@BillGreenAZ That makes sense.

[@PinballBob1]

Fun fact: The Spanish explorer, Cabeza de Vaca, (meaning Cow's head) was the grandson of a scout who guided the King of Spain by marking a trail with a cow's skull. In gratitude the King gifted him with the surname. Anything to keep from spending a few pesetas unnecessarily.

[@Riceball01]

As far as the surname Lee in Chinese goes, it's distinctly possible that in China, Taiwan, and probably Singapore there multiple forms of Lee that happen to sound similar but are spelt using entirely different characters. I know that this is the case for Wang/Wong (no difference in meaning based on the spelling), there are 2 forms of the surname; one means (the color) yellow, while the other means king or emperor. While they sound similar, they are spelt using different characters and there may be slight difference in pitch when pronouncing the names, something that English doesn't do.

[@SoulDelSol]

Oh that's cool, using pitch in speech. Never thought to do that. We'll stress syllables of course. We also use pitch to create emphasis as I notice also occurs when I talk to people who are speaking in Spanish. For example We'll say exaaaaactly for exactly They'll say exaaaacto. Does Chinese do this? I wonder how to place emphasis while stressing syllable while also changing pitch. I suppose it comes naturally to people who grow up in China

[@Riceball01]

@@SoulDelSol It's different in Chinese, in most (if not all) European languages, to include Spanish, changing pitch doesn't change the word. In Chinese a pitch change can, if not always, change the word. Take to, too, & two, in English they sound the same but in Chinese those could sound similar but with a pitch change to distinguish them from each other. But that's just a made up example since my Chinese is far from good enough to come up with any real examples.

[@HasekuraIsuna]

What's so interesting about Asian surnames, is that a lot of countries are in the bottom of surname variety. If it hasn't changed, surnames Kim/Lee/Park account for 45% of the South Korean population. And I think the story is similar in both China and Vietnam where the top 10 surnames covers over half the population. Japan however, has the most registered surnames in the world. This is all from memory, so excuse any mistakes.

[@RedRisotto]

I love translations of Finnish last names. My (translated to English) favorites: "Hit The Priest With A Hammer", "Touches Horses Inappropriately", "Hit Head On Rock As Child." Finnish last names are so loooong, and they often tell a whole story. They are not all about nature. or descriptors of land/area lived on.

[@loislewis5229]

Oh that’s interesting. My father’s side comes from Finland (I’m American) but I never knew that. Thanks

[@jokuihmehyyppa]

I call bs on that. I have never seen even old Finnish last names that could be translated as anything similar to your translations. So better start providing proof for your claims.

[@jokuihmehyyppa]

​@@loislewis5229You shouldn't believe everything you read online.

[@jimbo8549]

This is just blatant misinformation

[@akumaking1]

They sound like drinking stories

[@rob41137]

“I’m American, honey-our names don’t mean shit.” -Butch Coolidge

[@LocaalDent]

The ending just about killed me. I thought my speaker gave out for a quick sec. Hilarious stuff.

[@blackmcbain3145]

Simpson: son of a simp

[@RedRisotto]

I sharted...

[@blackmcbain3145]

So peterson is literally Peter's son. Jackson is Jack's son. 😂

[@mpkuspsa1664]

Welcome to the party pal

[@drpepper3838]

Common dutch name is jansen. Jans zoon (son)

[@andrewanderson7674]

And I'm Andrew Anderson... Andrew son of Andrew. :)

In Czech Republic we have lots of weird surnames which would translate to something like "don't eat the bread", "jump in the field", "salt it for yourself", "I welcome you", "Bring it home" etc. They aren't super common but they do exist. Also many people have names after animals ("owl, squirrel, hamster..."). My own surname has a terrible meaning in Czech language. 😅😅 Can't wait to get married. Anyways, I guess there are stories behind the origins too... 😊

[@marcanthonyeagleton1876]

What does your name mean?

[@mikeberry2332]

I am now seriously considering legally changing my last name to 'salt it for yourself'!

[@russelsellick316]

Spill the meaning. We won't laugh. According to my father Sellick means a sluggish slow moving stream... who knows?

​@@russelsellick316 Actually, I wrote the response already a few days ago, but YT keeps deleting :D So, "povolný" is the male version and it means "compliant/obedient" and "povolná" is the female version and it can mean "easy/se***lly available".

[@russelsellick316]

I see why you'd want to change it!

[@charlayned]

Working on my genealogy, on my dad's side, my grandfather's last name was Brown and my grandmother's last name was Smith. Yeah, talk about really hard to work through your family tree. At least my mom's side, with its Southard, Coan, and Musgrove names were a lot easier to deal with. Good video.

[@dianaash8077]

My 2 x great grandfather's name was James Smith. Ugh!!!!

[@Lady.B.ellinor4971]

I'm English my grandmothers maiden name was smith 😁

[@Stolas_thegreat]

My last name is pogorelec and in Slovenian it translates to “An arsonist”

[@RedRisotto]

Awesome! I'm changing my name to plain "Arsonist"... I shall soon be known as 'Guy-Demon Arsonist.' I will never be able to book a hotel room in France ever again.

[@mgx9383]

In Polish the word (pogorzelec) means someone who survived a fire and lost his house.

[@mightyx5441]

​@@mgx9383ah, really close but opposite of arsonist

[@Per_Hashisblad]

@@mightyx5441 Not necessarily. They might have burned their own house.

[@Mortablunt]

From the perspective of a Russian speaker your name sounds like it means “slightly burned.”

[@dovrosenschein147]

Come to think of it, mattonymic names are also more common among the Jewish community, so Dworkin (son of Deborah), Ruskin (son of Ruth) or Sorkin (son of Sarah) are common among Ashkenazi Jews.

[@TribalMatriarch]

As a side comment, the name Lee denotes “on the sheltered side of a hill” in most of the north of England, something to do with those pesky Vikings. Yorkshire has a lot of names and words from the Norse languages simply because of the long time they occupied the area.

[@pattrik2005]

What a great video. Straight to the info. No bs or useless KZbin filler. Nice work! Subscribed.

[@mitchellbrown5846]

Another interesting origin for the name Brown (mine) is from the Brown clan in Scotland. There are two different origin stories for how the clan got its name, one claiming that the name came from a Norman lord named "Le Brun". This does translate from French to the color brown and was likely referring to hair color, but was then given to the whole clan, many more people than his own descendants, and an early example of this surname. I know this explanation has been favored by some of the nobility in the clans history because it would have given them stronger claims to thrones or made them seem more French which was desirable back in the day. The other explanation for the clan name's origin is that it actually has nothing at all to do with the color and that it comes from the Gaelic word Brehon, meaning a judge of the law.

[@RedRisotto]

In Sweden, "Brown", is an occupational name. It was assigned to those emptying outhouses, and earlier, defecation log pits.

[@guillemedina7908]

LEBRUN JAMES

[@grandmarshallkingwolfman420]

Brown can also be an occupational surname. Short for brownsmith, which is someone that worked with copper.

[@mitchellbrown5846]

It is a Lowland clan yes.

[@citizenVader]

I was born in the last region in Denmark, which still uses patrinymes, and usually, the name of the craft you are acquainted with is mixed in as a middle name.. If I had to translate/construct my whole name into the original meaning, it becomes Lars, the son of Rasmus the castle Smith.

[@queenbee3647]

As a JOHNSON I approve this message. In high school I graduated with a girl that had my exact name. First, middle and last. Out of a school of 2,000. In my small town where I live there are 12,000 people. Yet there are enough JOHNSONS to cause havoc in our small schools, the public library...even with my insurance agent! She was so confused, she thought I was her niece! Having a common last name can be trying, but when your first name was one of the top three names for girls born in the 1950s its really something. My mom used to say "there are so many JOHNSONS youre as common as bug dust". I like my name.

[@themanifestorsmind]

Try having the same first and last name as your husband's baby mama. It was a mess before I changed my last name. I had to sit with the local hospital registration and separate my kids' records from hers 😂. And sometimes I still get her mail, because we've both been associated with living in a household with the same man.

[@AnarSchism.]

Johnson is a really annoying name for stalkers, your stalker is never really sure if he's got the right Johnson. Ditto when you get pulled over by the cops. Every Johnson in the USA has active warrants in their name, as well as famous athletes

[@Skr8955-f3c]

@@themanifestorsmind 😮

[@grandmarshallkingwolfman420]

An ancestor of mine anglicized their surname from Steinkoenig to Stoneking back in the 1800s. I'm not sure why, German names were and are common in the area in which they lived.

[@Cjinglaterra]

Around the time of WWI my great-great grandfather took the family to town and did a little Anglicizing. Riegel became Riggle, Wilhelm became William, Friedrich became Frederick, and so on.

[@Cjinglaterra]

Oh - and they’d been in the country since the 1830s. My grandfather told me his parents still spoke German to each other, although never to the kids.

[@williamalexander1863]

​@Cjinglaterra My mom's grandparents spoke French to each other but never taught the children because they wanted them to be true Americans. Back then immigrants wanted to assimilate

[@brunobandiera2062]

My parents had a good family friend whose surname was 'Cohen'. Every March 17, he changed it to 'Quinn'....

[@BillTxn]

I have read that the name "William" originated in the medieval period in northern Europe and was pronounced with a guttural; "G" sound in front of it, similar to "Gwilliam". That name, in turn, relates to the Spanish "Guillermo" (William).

[@maryc6091]

Gw-a touch of Welsh? This is all so interesting.

[@k9wolf07]

William is a pretty old name coming from proto Germanic and proto Norse "Wiljahelmaz/ Vilhjalmr" combining Wiljô "will, wish, desire" and Helmaz "helm, helmet" it became Wilhelm, it spread throughout western Europe in its many forms of which it has many all over the world, Some pronounce with a V or G or B or U or W.

[@iapetusmccool]

​@@k9wolf07so, someone ordered their helmet from Wish, and everyone else wouldn't let him forget it?

[@chapmangeorge1]

Romance languages went with the 'g' at the beginning whilst Germanic languages took the 'w'. Supposedly in England (and therefore English), "William" came from Normandy around the time of William the Conqueror, and it was "William" and not the French "Guillaume" because the Normans were just Vikings settled in France and there was more Germanic influence in that area of France at the time. Also, standard French that exists today came from the French spoken around Paris at the time, and that dialect had the name Guillaume instead. This is how English has the words guardian/warden and guarantee/warranty. They are the same words with the same meanings from two different French dialects

[@jamesslick4790]

My "kid" brother Dave (he's in his mid 50's, LOL) was "spoiled" by my mother. So me and my sister called him "St. David". My mother was of Welsh descent. LOL.

[@RamonRodriguez-hq7vn]

I researched my surname when I was a freshman in college. Yes, Rodriguez is of visigothic origin (Germanic). I am a foreign born American from Cuba, of Spanish ancestry. I look pretty much like a typical European. Thanks for the confirmation of my surname.

[@Real11BangBang]

You know usually when a channel tells me to like share and subscribe, I ignore them. However, this is the first time I've been told Thank you for shopping and a capybara was mentioned so you got a like from me.

[@ulrikschackmeyer848]

Just a little suplement. William or Guillome came to Britain with the Normans 1066. The Norman/originally Norse version was Vilhjalmur meaning 'will(power) + 'helmet' in ancient Germanic

[@CB-fn3me]

Andersson isn't one of the most common surnames in Sweden. It's the most common surname in Sweden at the moment with Johansson a close second.

[@ChristianHuygens1]

Are You sure its not Abdullahi?

[@CB-fn3me]

@@ChristianHuygens1 Yes. Abdullahi is a very rare name in Sweden. This is the first time I've ever encountered it so how the h_ll you got the idea that it would be a common name in Sweden I have no idea but believe me: You're wrong.

[@ChristianHuygens1]

@@CB-fn3me bro is offended

[@CB-fn3me]

@@ChristianHuygens1 I'm not offended. You're just simply wrong. Nothing more and nothing less.

[@ChristianHuygens1]

@@CB-fn3me yeah yeah yeah yeah

[@TheRealDrJoey]

Here's some more: Everyone knows "Baker" but a "Baxter" was a female baker. "Cooper" was a guy who made barrels. "Fletcher" was someone who made arrows. Bridge, or Bridger, or Bridgemen was a bridge builder. "Carter" was a guy who drove a cart. Candler, or Chandler was a candlemaker. Brewster was beer brewer. Mason, obviously from stone workers. Sadler was a saddle maker, Shoemaker, Tanner, Skinner, Butcher, and Weaver are all pretty obvious.

[@jeraldbaxter3532]

I saw, on the internet🤔 that the name Baxter originated in a place called Farfarshire, which has a "Lord of the Rings" vibe; have you heard this?

[@TheRealDrJoey]

@@jeraldbaxter3532 News to me. I became aware of the Baxter/Female Baker connection from reading Follett's Kingsbridge series.

[@jeraldbaxter3532]

@@TheRealDrJoey Thank you!

[@Heavywall70]

Clark is olde English for “Taker of Vacations in gray wooded areas.”

[@maryloumawson6006]

Brewster is a female brewer Like Baxter, Spinster.

[@Xiuhcoatl_]

Lets gooo another Kindling of Knowledge video!!!

[@sethleoric2598]

Ember of Scholarship.

[@sethleoric2598]

Pyre of Studying.

[@sethleoric2598]

Water Of Ignorance

[@sethleoric2598]

Inferno of Education.

[@danbaker194]

Plymouth UK here - surname Baker. I find surnames fascinating. Williams used to shovel crap off the roads apparently. Fun fact. I live just off the edge of Dartmoor too!

[@impalaman9707]

I think there's more than a few Hispanic folks who think they're related to Jesus because their last name is Perez, and Perez was the name of one of Jesus's Hebrew ancestors. However, like Lee is both Asian and English, that may, too, be coincidental. My grandmother's maiden name is Park, and my mom swore she had Korean blood, because of all the Korean Parks she knew, but that, too, was another name that was both British and Asian. I still want to believe, however, that there must be some connection between the Scottish Andersons and the Norwegian Andersons. The two are so closely linked that it must be more than just coincidental

[@corkycobon1481]

I have always wondered how some surnames came to be. For instance, my maiden name is Avis. In Latin, it means bird. In German, it means aviary. In the U.S, it means car rental company. LOL

[@wesbarvainis3866]

in Lithuanian it means sheep

[@fullmetaltheorist]

Avison Son of rental company 😂

[@-alovelygaycat-]

That’s the Taxonomical name for birds, I believe.

[@corkycobon1481]

@@wesbarvainis3866 I did not know that. Thank you for the info!!

[@mattyt1961]

And the Avis car rental company is named after the Latin since the first location was at Willow Run Airport in Detroit. Avis = Birds = Planes. Of course that is BS the guy's name last name was Avis, but the other is so much more fun :)

[@kjsalomonsen9299]

I was told that the Danish spell their names with the "sen" and the other Scandinavians use the "son". I don't know if Anders is a form of the name Andrew but that's where the Scandinavians get Anderson/Andersson/Anderssen/Andersen. LOL My Great grandfather got on the ship to America as an Andersson and got off with only his Father's last name. He said there were way too, many Anderssons on board the ship.

[@HasekuraIsuna]

Norway uses the -sen too, only Sweden uses the -son to my knowledge. I'm pretty sure Andersson is top 10 Swedish surnames, probably top 5. Johansson have however been the most common surname, but it might have changed recently.

[@friend_trilobot]

I believe Jack is also a variant of the medieval Jankin, meaning "little John" which was sometimes written Jacken, presumably bc the n was not being pronounced. But I imagine that Jacques influenced it, but that might be why it became connected to John and not Jacob or James.

[@sneeringimperialist6667]

I hear Jacken was an oaf...

[@pablowentscobar]

"Hello! My name is Chlhgugtffufyftfuy." Ok, Smith it is."

[@lukelee7967]

So, my last name is Lee. And my grandpa on my dad's side was Norwegian. I believe that it means something like "hillside". And in Norway it's sometimes part of last names or place names. My grandma on my dad's side was Swedish, her last name was Anderson. My mom's parents were both Norwegian. Her dad's last name was Skurdahl, her mom's Prestoldt (I may have spelt that wrong)

[@HasekuraIsuna]

Your Swedish grandmom most likely spelt Andersson with two s, my gut feeming is that 99% of -son names in Sweden are -sson.

[@Armed-Forever]

lee is british so how does that work

[@Neversa]

Kazakh last names are just name of ancestor, usually grandfather or grand-grandfather, sometimes disfigured by russian incorrect spelling since colonial soviet times, or with -ov -ev suffixes. We also have patronymic in between. Before that, people were referred to as Name + Patronymic+ Tribe's name. I would be Danat Muratuly of Qanjygaly-Baibek tribe. Now people start to return to that formula of name+patronymic

[@tedthetowerdoucette1933]

Here's something about Franco-American names: the "-ette" suffix is not a feminine suffix, as it appears. The French settlers in America came from regions where the masculine "-et" diminutive suffix was still pronounced "ET" and the feminine "-ette" is pronounced "ETTA". Many of the scribes who recorded their names upon arrival in North America were Parisian, where the "-et" suffix was pronounced "AY" (as it is today) and the feminine "-ette" pronounced "ET". Therefore, when our ancestor arrived in Quebec and said his name was "Doucet" pronouncing the T, the scribe heard and recorded "Doucette." Thus, you'll primarily find "-ette's" in North America, not in France. That's a simplified version of the story, but it's very interesting.

[@peter-radiantpipes2800]

Best ending ever.

[@Mortablunt]

So, if names are generally about places, customs, or jobs, what does that say about Dickinson?

[@W1LDTANG]

😂🤣😂

[@alexyo2440]

Son of Richard?

[@W1LDTANG]

Son in Richard _or_ Richard in Son...@@alexyo2440

[@stischer47]

The -ez in Spanish surnames comes from Visigoth who ruled the Iberian peninsula after the fall of Rome and before the Muslim conquest. It relates to the German -es postifx meaning of "belonging to someone or something", e.g. Freundes - of my friend

[@wayneyadams]

I see that the invasion of the illegal aliens from South and Central America has now caused Spanish surnames to be among the most common names.

[@ANDROLOMA]

Our tribe is dying out. Can't say I'm sad to see it go.

[@zanedietlin7645]

my father is Dietlin, derived from Dieterland of Austria they suppose. my mother is Moran, from the counties of Sligo and Mayo in Ireland. I feel proud to be a true American mix, German-Irish!

[@toddwebb7521]

One that's not in the top 10 but would probably be up there if you counted all the variants as one instead of as different is the variations of names meaning weaver between Webb, Weber, Webster, and Weaver it's gotten split up into like 4 that won't make the list.

[@lilacsbby4787]

szabo in hungarian is pronounced more like a regular “s” sound as opposed to a “z” sound. magyar (also while i’m here) is pronounced more like “mud-yar” as versus “maggy-yar” (just think i remember that pronunciation in another video of yours).

[@GoodForYou4504]

My surname is Atwood. Ironically, i have lived at the edge of a forest for most of my life.... I never thought about it, but, coincidence? I think not! Lol! 😂

[@coling3957]

You have to wonder how STARBUCK came about, an actual surname from Wiltshire, England..

[@dovrosenschein147]

Perez is also a common Jewish name, from the Hebrew “bursting forth”, and means “son of Peretz”. The biblical Peretz, one of the twins born to Tamar in Genesis, was considered a great messianic ancestor, and is a common Ashkenazi name.

[@Benamon9]

No doubt many conversos kept practicing their Jewish faith and traditions in secret

[@dovrosenschein147]

Some Spanish conversos kept the tradition alive under the radar, and some chose names that alluded to that tradition, names like “de San Mosé” (“Son of Saint Moses”). Other Jews had joined messianic cults in Europe. Most famous of these were the Shabbetaeans, followers of Shab’tai Tz’vi, who converted to Islam in Turkey rather than die at the hands of the Ottoman sultan. Only slightly less famous were the followers of Jacob Frank. “Frank” there comes from “Frenk”, the Ashkenazi Yiddish term for their darker skinned Sepharadi coreligionists. Another very common name in America is Cohen, Hebrew for “Priest”, and less common is Levi, or transliterated into German, Lowe, or Loeb or Lions. Actor Rob Lowe is not himself the least bit Jewish, but there were probably some Jews in his ancestry.

[@jald910]

I’m in my 70’s and my dad’s mother was in her 40’s when he was born, so my paternal grandmother goes back a ways. She was born in Norway in 1876 and had a patronymic. Her father was Nils and she was Nilsdotter. He was Nils Ellingson . They lived at Brunes farm. I am told that Brunes means headland but Brun means Brown. When they came to the U.S. they ended up with the surname Brown.

[@ottosaxo]

Be careful. "Nes" means "cape" in Norwegian. Of course it's possible that one "n" got lost in that geographical name, if so it might originally be "brown (-colored) cape".

[@NorseGraphic]

Bru = Bridge In combination with Nes (Cape), it sounds distinctly like a geographical feature, maybe not brown (brun) the color in my opinion. Bru’nes.

[@richardellis69]

I believe you have one major omission. You list the names of White and Brown as two of the more common names in the USA. But your reasons do not include the fact that many freed black Americans, who did not wish to be associated with their former owners name, took the names of colors as their last names. Think of all the Browns, Whites, and Greens that you may have met and I'd be willing to bet the majority of them were black individuals.

[@rdf4315]

Now that I think about it every Green, brown and white that ever met and went to school with we're all black Americans.

[@rob41137]

⁠@@rdf4315And every Black I’ve ever known was white. I’ve never met a white White or a black Black 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@carolinaroot3492]

No the Whites I know are…uhhh….white 😂😂

[@SuperMagnetizer]

No, whites are beige but blacks are colored.

[@therealspeedwagon1451]

Even though I’m only around 20% Norwegian, I have a Norwegian last name that is an Americanized form of a common a Norwegian last name. From what I’ve heard it comes from a village in Norway. I’m pretty sure my great great great grandfather who emigrated here about 100 years ago was originally named Johnson but because that was already a common name in New York they changed it to this. I will allow people in the comments to guess my last name.

[@HasekuraIsuna]

Berg?

[@ethanpetersen810]

Holland?

[@jeraldbaxter3532]

In the late 1960s, when I was about 10, my mother saw an ad in a "Ladies Circle" type magazine which said, " For $10.99, we will send you a copy of your family history and a plate with you family coat of arms painted on it!" So, she sent away $21.00 for both my father's family (Baxter) and for her maiden surname (Newman). In due time a package arrived with two plates and the family histories; the Baxter family history was the usual - variation of occupation derived (Baker through changes to Baxter) and originated in Scotland.. It stated that the first Baxter to come to the New World was a man who lived in Scotland, until he committed a murder (no details) and had to flee to the colonies dressed as a woman! So, it's not every family who can claim a murderous drag queen as their founder; funny thing, though, my mother never even mentioned the Newman family history🤔...

[@joshjones6072]

Lol that ending to the video 😂 Also, fascinating description of very common surname origins.

[@RestitutorEuropa]

Kamala Harris has ruined the name Harris for me.

[@lilacsbby4787]

this video just highlights the problems of neatly boxing in people’s ethnicities and origins. don’t get me wrong, it’s a great video, but Europe (which could also just be used as a case study) is a continent with a LARGE amount of crossover and mixing and conquering of cultures. it seems like rarely does a last name (for example) only mean one thing coming from one place. we like to box people and label them under ethnicity, race, and hell even sexuality, but when you get into the nitty gritty, it seems like everyone is actually everything and not too often do our best boxes line up with reality. not to say that genetics and ethnicity don’t exist, because obviously they do, but it’s not as perfectly aligned as many believe. just a side rant, great video!!

[@maryjackson1194]

Mueller and Muller would both sound more like Miller than how the reader pronounced them. "Ue" is a way of writing "U umlaut" when you don't have an umlaut in your fonts, and "ue" followed by two consonants is said as a short I made with rounded lips. The U sound completely disappears. Muller is just Mueller without the umlaut at all.

[@theredknight9314]

How does one find the origins of their last name?

[@Fireoflearning]

This might help kzbin.info/www/bejne/roWZmquIZsmih8k

[@IamFlaem1]

Ah yes the best birthday present ever, a fire of learning video

[@Fireoflearning]

Happy birthday!

[@louiseake1899]

Hey do you know the meaning of Ake?

[@rdf4315]

Happy birthday day

[@otakubancho6655]

You missed one,Baker,every town or city had at least one,or more.

[@yumeironeko]

Welp, I just realized the etymology of the Spanish adjective I learned for brunette (morena).

[@peztopher7297]

Smith is supposed to be the most common name. And yet, in my 60+ years, I have never met someone with that last name. I'm on the West Coast--is it more common eastward?

[@ANDROLOMA]

My mom's maiden name. From the south.

[@peztopher7297]

@@ANDROLOMA BTW, my family name is Thompson, another common one.

[@ANDROLOMA]

Cox, Singletary, Walker in my family. All very Anglo stock, from the deep south. Since before 1850, according to the census. @@peztopher7297

[@morganlefay2599]

So informative, I'm descended from a Mor o'Toole and Mor Martins in Portugal. quite the royal mongrel! Tu, very will done! Loved my Basque side represented as well, rare...❤❤❤

[@pyropulseIXXI]

Interesting; my last name is so uncommon that literally no one else has it in the entire world except for my family

[@EvelynElaineSmith]

Cool, I'm jealous!

[@EvelynElaineSmith]

However, I've always liked Smith as a last name because it meant I had to prove to others that I was special.

[@RestitutorEuropa]

Bro same. I’ve only been able to track down one random family in another state over who also happens to have the same last name to us but aren’t related to us.

[@Magplar]

@@EvelynElaineSmith Hey, I think you’re special and I think it’s awesome that your last name has so much history to it!

[@1TakoyakiStore]

That skit at the end reminded me of Mike Myers 😂

[@annabethwivell327]

Samson isn’t necessarily a patronymic name, Son of Sam. It can also come from the man Samson in the Bible, whose name had nothing to do with Sam or Samuel or being someone’s son. Samson in the Bible is the anglicized form of the Hebrew name, Shimshon, which was itself derived from the Hebrew word for sun, Shemesh. It’s roughly like calling your son Sunny.

[@1LivelyRogue]

DO FLOYD!!! DO FLOYD!!! Oh. Damn. Good video. Well done.

[@Badpoison1]

As a Garcia myself, I was taught that we come from bear hunters, which is strange that our coat of arms is a blooded black eagle. But whatever

[@ryandegrave8978]

So many names are just job titles once held by their ancestors. Smith, Cook, Miller, Tanner, Fletcher, Potter, Thatcher, Carter, Baker, Carpenter, Taylor, Cooper, Fisher, Mason, Weaver, Fuller, Tucker, Cartwright, Bachelor, Butler, Knight, Marshall, Page, Bailey, Priest, Abbott, Bishop... I bet I could think of more but these are just some English ones. My last name is from the Netherlands and also comes from an occupation. It's more common than a lot of people realize.

[@impalaman9707]

Most of your occupational or place names are Engish. I was being silly one day and I actually looked up the name Baker, and it means the same as the name Cook---"one who prepares food"🤣🤣🤣

[@ryandegrave8978]

@@impalaman9707 Occupational names are also extremely common in Germany and German-speaking countries, and some of those last names are now fairly common in America as well. A few examples are Beck, Zimmerman, Kaufmann, Koch, Schmidt, Wagner, and Weber. Like I said, my last name is from the Netherlands and is occupational in origin.

[@ZZ_Trop]

*Shepherd

[@williamwalker8107]

The painting shown in the beginning of the video, the one showing some kind of feast. The one with the green cloth hanging behind the woman seated with the bowl or something hanging above her was in a delicatessen restaurant I was taken to as a kid, "Billie's" in Glendale California. I was always fascinated by that painting. What is it about? What is it depicting?

[@ANDROLOMA]

Timestamp the frame. I can't find what you describe.

[@Anthony-qg3qo]

when the census started way back, I think they needed last names, cause they would have dozens of marks, johns, lukes, and other biblical names. I believe that's where your profession names started,

[@beefcake5362]

The name Smith is saturated

[@ThePussukka]

My mom's maiden name is Kuznetsova and Kuznets means smith.

[@EvelynElaineSmith]

So, if her family wanted to Anglicize it as most likely many German Schmidt's have done, at one point in time, they might have wanted to do so. Actually, I like my last name because it means I need to prove myself, for otherwise.

[@OGFC]

I’ve been told my family name came from England related to fish net makers and their hooking hand gestures while making the nets.

[@THEAmateurSommelier]

Interesting video. What about the least common American names?

[@kozakos_vt]

13:00 Oh no he's developing dementia.

[@nick.1237]

I’m ready to enlarge my brain 🧠

[@ilanafitzgerald9000]

Wonder if using nearly identical first & last names was common in the late 1800's/ early 1900's? Both my grandfathers were, respectively, David Davies & Gerald Fitzgerald. No guesses that they had Welsh & Irish ancestry!

[@impalaman9707]

Welsh for Davies. Actually "Fitz" comes from Normandy in France--the Norman version of "son of"---Son of Gerald. Anyone whose surname starts with "Fitz" rode with William the Conqueror to conquer Britain in 1066

[@biaberg3448]

The picture at 5:07 is taken on the island Kvaløy outside Tromsø in the northern part of Norway. I grew up there, and can actually see both my grandma’s house and my parent’s house. So strange and utterly unexpected. By the way, Lee is written Li in Norwegian, meaning slope in the terrain.

[@kinzieconrad105]

Burton is from Burr Town! Builders of towns with fortifications to fight off Viking raiders! Think medieval renaissance castle/towns. From around 1000’’s DC.

[@kenbobca]

Do you know the meaning of my last name, Karnes

[@JudeLagcao]

In the Philippines our Surenames are actually spanish, some are english/american surename the common one will be: Pereź, Mendoza, Rodriguez and Suarez. Mine is kinda different my Last name will be Lagcao just saying. 😅

[@americansmark]

Im of German ancestry, but have a very unusual name. Before it was anglicized, the surbame meant farmer. I guess that explains why i like the outdoors so much. Lol

[@rick5793]

My dad's side came from England area who's last name is Johnson or John's son, my mom's side as Cross came from my ancestors worked at a tavern/ keepers place at the " cross roads" where several roads met son they became known as Cletus who was from the cross - roads or just the cross.

[@TheDeadmanTT]

1:03 lmao my surname would be "Get lost nerd, you smell" That's what my friends call me! Tag yourself and friends for fun!

[@rebelliouslogic2705]

Explain DICKINSON

[@stevenmoore4612]

I was expecting my surname Moore which is really common in the U.S. to make it on here. It’s a topographical surname meaning “flat marshland”. It was suggested in my family’s archives that my last name may have been of either Scottish origin or anglicized from German “Mohr” which in German still means someone from a flat marshy landscape most likely from the very north of Germany, which is very marshy and flat. Or if was Scottish which is suggested too it could be that my ancestors were from southern Scotland/northern England which is generally flat and marshy as well. I’m pretty sure though that my Moore ancestors were of German origin because of the name of a man who is suspekten to be my sixth great grandfather born in the 1700’s in Germany and his name is listed as Johann later changed to John and his last name Mohr that was later changed to Moore after he came to the British colonies before the U.S. became a country. I’m not sure if he is actually my sixth grandfather or not but from digging around a lot of evidence I’ve found suggests that he is potentially my sixth great grandfather.

[@Stephen-lx9nm]

There was no Germany in the 17th century

[@kirstymackenzie2437]

He did mention Moore!

[@stevenmoore4612]

@@Stephen-lx9nm Yes my mistake back in those times is was the Holy Roman Empire. Basically a hodgepodge of German speaking states.

[@workingmothercatlover6699]

I wasn't surprised at all about Smith being the most common surname in America. In my family history, I have a lot of Knight, Nelson, and also Coffin. I think someone was a coffin maker or something.

[@matthewbarry376]

On the name Lee, Occupational surnames are not an Irish phenomenon . Poets are called File as Gaeilge.

[@rickvassell8349]

Too good, new subscriber.

[@Classical.Conservative]

My name (Parks) is an occupational name that originates from those who protected specific pieces of land from being hunted on.

[@jameshudson169]

The p in Thompson is similar to the r sound in wash.

[@Numba003]

As a Wilson who married a woman with the surname Davis, I appreciate that we both showed up with super common surnames in this list lol. Thank you for another excellent episode! God be with you out there everybody. ✝️ :)

[@kingkuroneko7253]

First

[@fearvo]

That was really good mate. Love your humour especially the ending. I burst out laughing

[@williamalexander1863]

I am an Alexander. I don't meet many people with that last name. Its usually their 1st name.

[@carolinaroot3492]

My dads mom was an Alexander from the boondocks of North Carolina. Any idea of what country it is from? We don’t know.

[@williamalexander1863]

@@carolinaroot3492 My dad's father's family immigrated from Scotland to Ireland to the US.

[@danam0228]

Lmao, such a funny ending. Also very funny: "Was everyone a blacksmith? No."

[@lilfattcatt7758]

My lastname is Lengle it’s a Bavarian surname that means long (basically) My grandpas entire name is farm farm long I’ve only seen Lengle’s within my state (PA)

[@kevinlawler3252]

A fire of learning video? Always great to see, we are very fortunate.