First names and last names are popular in very different ways. The most common first name in the US, Michael, belongs to about 1.3% of the people How Many of Mee’s estimates cover. The most common surname, Smith, belonged to 0.83% of the people in the 2010 Census. Surnames are spread across far more names, and they change much more slowly. This guide compares the two with Social Security and Census records.
The two records count different groups: the first-name figures estimate the people alive today who were born in the US, and the surname figures count everyone in the 2010 Census. So the guide compares shares, not totals.
Surnames Are Far More Spread Out
| First names | Surnames | |
|---|---|---|
| Share with one of the 10 most common | 8.6% | 4.9% |
| Share with one of the 100 most common | 33.0% | 17.3% |
| Share with one of the 1,000 most common | 76.4% | 41.0% |
| Names it takes to cover half the people | 254 | 2,116 |
Half of the people the first-name estimates cover have one of just 254 names. For surnames it takes 2,116. And 29,312,001 people, 9.9% of the 2010 Census, had surnames so rare that the Census grouped them together: shared by fewer than 100 people each.
Surnames Change Slowly
Surnames are passed down, so the list barely moves. 9 of the 10 most common surnames in 2010 were already in the top 10 in 2000. The names given to babies change much faster: only 2 of the 10 most popular girls’ names of 2000 were still in the top 10 in 2010, and 3 of the boys’ names.
| Surname | Rank in 2000 | Rank in 2010 |
|---|---|---|
| Smith | #1 | #1 |
| Johnson | #2 | #2 |
| Williams | #3 | #3 |
| Brown | #4 | #4 |
| Jones | #5 | #5 |
| Garcia | #8 | #6 |
| Miller | #6 | #7 |
| Davis | #7 | #8 |
| Rodriguez | #9 | #9 |
| Martinez | #11 | #10 |
The moves that do happen are small: Garcia rose from #8 to #6. The surname guide shows the biggest moves from 2000 to 2010.
Names That Are Both
150 names are in the top 1,000 of both lists. These are common as both:
| Name | Rank as a surname | Rank as a first name |
|---|---|---|
| Thomas | #16 | #12 |
| Taylor | #17 | #107 |
| Jackson | #19 | #180 |
| Martin | #20 | #276 |
| Scott | #36 | #54 |
| Carter | #49 | #262 |
| Morgan | #69 | #202 |
| Kelly | #74 | #86 |
James is the #2 first name and the #85 surname. According to Behind the Name, Taylor, Jackson and Carter come from English surnames.
Look Up Both of Your Names
- Type your first name in the search box on the home page to see how many people alive in the US have it.
- Type your surname in the search box on the surnames page; every surname on the Census list has a page.
- Combine them with the full name estimate; the full name guide explains how rough it is.