English Family Names
Of the top ten family names in the United States, eight have English origins or having possible mixed British Isles heritage, the other two being of Spanish origin. This is the first time two surnames of non-British Isles origin have been in the top 10 most common family names. Many African Americans have their origins in slavery (i.e. slave name). Many of them came to bear the surnames of their former owners. Many freed slaves either created family names themselves or adopted the name of their former master. According to 2000 U.S. Census data, the top ten surnames in the United States are: In the last UK Census in 2001, surnames in England can be compared to the United States with 6 of the family names in England being in both their top ten. Many English surnames are also found in Ireland. This is attributable to a number of factors, including the Protestant Plantation of Ireland, as well as the imposition of the Penal Laws in the Middle Ages, which forced many Irish people to Anglicize their surnames. Also, in the 9th century, Viking invaders brought many Norse names to Ireland that they had already brought to England when they established and settled the Danelaw. Although some Scandinavian names may have been brought to England in pre-Viking times, especially in the North and East (who says?). Moreover, the Anglo-Normans who invaded Ireland in the 1170s brought many Norman French names which they had already spread to England (again .
| Name | Rank - 2000 | Number | Country of Origin | England - 2001 |
| Smith | 1 | 2,376,207 | England, Ireland, Scotland | Smith |
| Johnson | 2 | 1,857,160 | England | Jones |
| Williams | 3 | 1,534,042 | England, Wales | Taylor |
| Brown | 4 | 1,380,145 | England, Ireland, Scotland | Brown |
| Jones | 5 | 1,362,755 | England, Wales | Williams |
| Miller | 6 | 1,127,803 | England, Scotland, Germany, France | Wilson |
| Davis | 7 | 1,072,335 | England, Wales | Johnson |
| García | 8 | 858,289 | Spain | Davies |
| Rodríguez | 9 | 804,240 | Spain | Robinson |
| Wilson | 10 | 783,051 | England, Scotland | Wright |
Read more about this topic: English American
Famous quotes containing the words english, family and/or names:
“The English Bible—a book which, if everything else in our language should perish, would alone suffice to show the whole extent of its beauty and power.”
—Thomas Babington Macaulay (1800–1859)
“It is as when a migrating army of mice girdles a forest of pines. The chopper fells trees from the same motive that the mouse gnaws them,—to get his living. You tell me that he has a more interesting family than the mouse. That is as it happens.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“The world is never the same as it was.... And that’s as it should be. Every generation has the obligation to make the preceding generation irrelevant. It happens in little ways: no longer knowing the names of bands or even recognizing their sounds of music; no longer implicitly understanding life’s rules: wearing plaid Bermuda shorts to the grocery and not giving it another thought.”
—Jim Shahin (20th century)