#938 SHEPPARD Occupational surname for a shepherd. #693 PITTS Lives near a hollow or pit. #147 WELLS From the well spring or water hole. #460 TODD Fox. #46 RIVERA From the shore or bank of a river. Literally means a woody clearing. Advertisement. #537 MARSH Family who lived near the marshland. FamilySearch Terms of Use (Updated 2021-09-27), The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. #991 HENDRIX Family of Heinrich. #599 COLLIER Occupational surname for someone who sells or burns charcoal. #137 FORD Lives by a shallow place in the river. #390 (73,522) Of Anglo-Norman French origin, this patronymic means "son of Gerald.". #211 CUNNINGHAM Scottish surname from the Gaelic Cuinneagin meaning descendant of the leader. #155 BURNS Lives by the stream. #14 WILSON Son of William. #756 MERRITT Habitational surname for a family who came from Merriott in Somerset, UK. Margaret Mary Healy Murphy (1833-1907), American Catholic nun; Mary Murphy (disambiguation), multiple . #637 ATKINSON Family or son of Adam. #272 HOWELL Anglicized form of the Welsh Hywel, meaning eminent. #987 REYNA From the French surname Rainer meaning army counsel. Catholic Last Name Popularity, Meaning and Origin. #242 NUEZ Son of Nuo #672 SHIELDS From a shed or shelter. #217 RILEY From the rye clearing. #366 HAYNES Enclosure. O'Reilly 12. #469 SHERMAN Literally translates to shear man, an occupational surname for someone who trimmed pills off the surface of fine cloth. #106 BELL Occupational surname for a bell-ringer/news announcer. It is an eternal promise that we, who, through our concupiscence, are so often wicked, can still be saved, no matter what we have done or how many times we have done it, by turning away from it . While Michael Houlihan's name sounds Irish and although he may have come from Dublin in the Irish Republic, that doesn't mean necessarily he's Catholic or even that his ancestors were predominantly Catholic. In 2018, 8.8 percent of babies born in Shanghai received their mothers family name. #607 CONLEY From the Gaelic surname OConghaile, meaning son of the brave hound. #98 ROSS Scottish surname indicating someone who lived on or near a point of high land that juts out into a large body of water. #889 BLACKBURN Lives near the dark colored stream. #586 MEYERS Occupational surname for a mayor. #422 QUINN An Anglicized form of the Gaelic surname O Cuinn, meaning counsel. #152 WEBB Occupational surname from the name webber, meaning weaver. #293 PADILLA Place name, literally means saucepan or little pot. Hear ye! #301 DAVIDSON Son of David. #793 DORSEY From the village of Arcy in La Manche, France. #38 NGUYEN Someone who played a stringed instrument, similar to a lute. #332 CRAIG Lives near the outcropping of rocks. 434k Noah is predicted to be the #2 boy name, 5.2m John is predicted to be the #23 boy name, 2.6m Joseph is predicted to be the #24 boy name, 1.6m Matthew is predicted to be the #34 boy name, and 287k Luke is predicted to be . #403 CUMMINGS Possibly from the French town Comines. #426 RIVAS From the sea side or river bank. #435 GILL Nickname for William. Today, women arent legally mandated to give their husbands last name to their children but U.S. bureaucracy has continued to enforce patrilineal naming conventions. #502 OSBORNE Viking name, literally meaning Bear God #491 WATERS From the place near the water, or family of Walter. #944 WOODWARD Ward of the forest/woods. #849 GILES Holy man or one who does good. #97 LONG Surname from a nickname for someone who was tall. In this article we'll look at the origin and meaning of the surname Catholic and how popular it is in the United States. (Watt was a nickname for Walter) #512 OROZCO Habitational name from Orozco, Spain. #160 HUNTER Occupational surname for an animal hunter/trapper. Literally means valley of the hare. #651 SWEENEY From the Scottish/Gaelic surname Mac Suibhne literally meaning young warrior from another land. #778 KENT From Kent, England or literally from the coast. #271 ESPINOZA From the thorny area. From the Gaelic buth, meaning house, and Chanain meaning of the canon. Carbo is an occupational last name referring "to someone who sells, extracts coal, or lived by a coal outcrop". #254 DOMINGUEZ Son of Domingo A service provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. #820 HOWE Lives near a man-made mound or burial mound. #598 YODER Swiss surname meaning son or family of Theodore. #745 SOLOMON Peaceful one, from the Hebrew Shalom. #479 GALLAGHER Irish surname meaning descendant of Gallchobhair. #703 MARKS Family of Mark or Marcus. #810 NIELSEN Son of Niel. How Marriage . The original locative name of Henry of the Marsh might be shortened over the years to Henry Marsh. Ohanisian - This name is patronymic for the Armenian . #494 STRICKLAND From the cow pasture. When two people with hyphenated last names marry, figuring out which last names to pass down is particularly messy. 2. #548 CHARLES Free man. #21 LEE Family who lived in or near an open meadow or clearing. #902 POTTS Family of Philpott, an early form of the name Phillip. #385 LOVE From the French louve meaning a female wolf. #117 PATTERSON Son of Patrick. #710 HUTCHINSON Son of hugh, or son of the close, beloved relative. #907 NIXON Son of Nick/Nicholas. #507 IBARRA From the valley or hillside. #315 NAVARRO Person from Navarre, France. #862 BENTLEY From the clearing overgrown with bent-grass. #982 MADDEN From the Irish surname OMadain, meaning descendant of the son of the hound. Kentucky was populated largely by settlers from Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. Three decades later, it was about 20 percent. O'Connor 10. Jennifer Moss (she/her) is the founder of BabyNames.com, author of The Baby Names Workbook, and Producer of The Baby Names Podcast. #576 HOLLOWAY Lives near the holy spring. Literally means citadel of Julian (Turro-Julio). I also have a Ph.D. in English and have written more than 4,000 articles for regional and national publications. #534 FLYNN From the Gaelic surname O Floinn, literally meaning ruddy or red-haired. #427 KHAN Chief, ruler. #760 STRONG Descriptive surname for a person who was physically strong. #52 PHILLIPS Family of Phillip. #258 OBRIEN Of the Family of Brien Black Creoles of Louisiana. #382 FLETCHER Folk army. #724 MATA Habitational name derived from a number of towns in Spain and Portugal. #45 HALL Occupational or place surname for a person who lived or worked in a hall. Infoplease knows the value of having sources you can trust. #567 COCHRAN Scottish surname for a family who lived near the lowlands of Cochrane. And the same patronymic system carried over into foreign languages, as well. #674 CHOI Korean surname meaning one who oversees the land and the mountain. There are a few names that could be either - Katherine, Thomas, Anderson - so you go to schools. #773 MEADOWS Lives in or near the meadow. #723 MONTES Habitational surname for someone who lived on or near a hill/mountain. #593 CARSON Probably a form of Karsten, or a created name meaning Son of Carr/Kerr. #974 POLLARD Strong descendent of Paul. She teaches at the Genealogical Institute of Pittsburgh and the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy. #846 PENNINGTON From the town with a livestock enclosure. We'll also look at the race and ethnic origin of people in the United States who are named Catholic. Individual judges have repeatedly used the legal doctrine of the best interests of the child to side with the father. Aarons Aaronson Abadi Abate Abeles Abelman Abelson Abend Abendroth Aberman Abrahamson Abramov Abramovich Abramovitz Abramowitz Abramowski Abrams Abramson Abt Acker Ackermann Adamsky Adel Adelberg Adell Adelman Adelmann Adelson Adelstein Aderman Ades Adler Agar Agron Aguado Ahrens Akerman Akkerman Aksamit Alhadeff Alman Almen Almon Alon Alper Surnames also changed over time: A person named Hilton, for instance, might take up the last name Potter after beginning their vocation in ceramics. #365 BENSON Son of Benjamin. #728 HENSON Son of Henry. #926 BEAN Either from the word bene meaning friend, good person or occupational for someone who literally grew or sold beans. #674 HUFFMAN Man/Steward of a farm. #454 GOODWIN Good friend. Here are the top 100 names as ranked by the 2010 Census. #154 GUZMAN Lived in or near the town of Guzmn, Spain. And the rate at which parents are choosing not to marry has risen dramatically over the past 50 years. #978 LU Chinese surname of unknown meaning. #248 SANTIAGO Of the Saint Tiago/Diego. #583 MORA Blackberry. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/most-common-us-surnames-1422656. #904 COSTA Someone from the coast or a bank of a river. #228 RICHARDS Family of Richard. 20 photos. #884 LANDRY Land ruler. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., seen here on Aug. 3, pressed Attorney General Merrick Garland on Wednesday on how many informants the FBI has in Catholic churches. #438 HARMON Form of the name Herman, meaning army man. Nevertheless, some surnames make it somewhat likely that somewhere along the line there was an Irish ancestor who was probably Catholic. #177 ROSE Lives near the roses. #833 FREDERICK Peace ruler. #102 JENKINS Son of John. #683 DILLON From or near Dilwyn in Herefordshire, UK. Agostinho It originated from the Portuguese surname Augustine, derived from the Latin word "augere," meaning "to increase." Saint Augustine of Hippo was a significant early Christian theologian who has spread evangelism across continents. #255 CARR From an area of wet, rough ground #816 ESPARZA Occupational surname for a professional swordsman/soldier. #278 McCOY Anglicized form of a Scottish surname meaning son of Aodh. #431 ROSALES From the place of roses. 16. #11 HERNANDEZ Son of Hernando. Wassa was a feminine Anglo-Saxon given name. #219 ALVARADO From the white land. Sandbox Learning is part of Sandbox & Co., a digital learning company. Or if youre curious about America as a whole, why not take our U.S. States Quiz and test your knowledge? These are called occupational names. #115 ROMERO From or traveler to Rome. If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. #729 ONEAL Son of Neal. #347 JENNINGS Family of little John. #58 EDWARDS Family of Edward #493 CAMACHO Twisted or disfigured. #525 FRENCH Person from France. #827 STARK Unwielding, steady, firm. But these ripple effects through history and immigration status have led to the country we have today and the last names that you, your friends and family, and your acquaintances are known by. #943 PARRA Spanish/Portuguese surname, meaning grapevine/trellis. Possibly used for someone who grew grapes or had a winery. #300 MEJIA Unknown meaning, might be a religious surname referring to the Messiah. Probably used as a nickname for a magician or jokester. #549 DRAKE Dragon. #590 GREER From the family of Gregory. #659 DICKERSON Son of Richard. #524 HARTMAN Dutch surname used for a hardy/strong man. #495 NORMAN From the northern region of France. Mac or O' anything, usually Catholic, but may be Scottish and therefore Protestant. #547 VILLARREAL From the royal estate/village. Literally means Son of bringer of wisdom. #270 SIMS Family of Simon. #195 PAYNE Originally meaning pagan. #628 BRADFORD From the broad or big ford. #313 JOSEPH He will add. Mallinson knew that their choice was not a popular one for heterosexual American couplesshes a professor of sociolinguistics and gender and womens studies at the University of Maryland at Baltimore County, and wrote a 2017 paper that, in part, analyzes patrilineal surname conventions. Smith 6. #692 BELTRAN Spanish surname meaning bright raven. #847 MICHAEL Who is like god? "Top 100 Most Common Last Names in the United States." #153 TUCKER Occupational surname for someone for a cloth thickener. #87 GRAY From a nickname for someone with gray hair or house. Join our work today! #762 CORDOVA Habitational surname for a family from the ancient city of Crdoba, Spain. #671 HARRELL Nickname for someone with a good head of thick hair. #279 GARRETT Family of Gerald. #909 FRY Born free. #31 WALKER Occupational surname for a person who walked on damp cloth in order to thicken it. That proportion seems to have remained remarkably consistent: A 2017 paper studying adoptive heterosexual parents found that they gave a patrilineal surname to their child 96 percent of the time. #482 HAMPTON From the town near the water meadow. Literally means high rock. #164 SHAW Family who lived near a dense wooded area. About a year before Christine Mallinson gave birth to her first child, she and her husband agreed that all of their children would take her last name. #429 SERRANO Lives near a mountain ridge or collection of hills. Lynch 18. She will then forward your query to the GGG member who submitted the surname. In other places across the country particularly in the southwest Hispanic or Latino populations arrived with a completely different tradition of family names. From Scottish settlers to Portuguese migrants, America is full of diversity including in terms of names. For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Catholic was: Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals. #757 MURILLO Lives near a boundary or wall. Such surnames include Roberts, Lewis, Phillips, Edwards, Evans, Cooper, Hughes, Rogers, Bailey, Scott, and more. #99 FOSTER Occupational surname, a contraction of Forester. ), This problem was apparently widespread enough that, in 2019, New York State passed a law to allow residents to choose two last names separated by a space. #990 BRANCH Possibly a habitational surname for someone from Branch, a land division in Wiltshire, U.K. or from Branches Park, a former country mansion in West Suffolk, U.K. To get the best possible experience using our website we recommend that you upgrade to a newer version or install another browser. A lot of these same principles apply in other languages, particularly when discussing the system of patronymic naming. #487 CLARKE Occupational surname for a clerk. #746 GUEVARA From Guevara, Spain. Straight, married couples in the U.S. still almost always give kids the fathers last name. Slideshow. 1. #282 WANG Chinese surname meaning king. Surnames could also come from places a hint that a name comes from a place might be the endings -field, -ford, -brook, or -wood, for example. I think you can say with a very high degree of confidence that unmarried parents are less likely to pass down the fathers last name, Emily Shafer, a sociologist at Portland State University, told me. #898 FARLEY Habitational surname for one who is from any of the many English towns called Farley or Farleigh. #961 OCONNELL Descendant of Conaill. #784 MARIN Family of Marino or lives near the sea. #959 MADDOX From the ancient Welsh male name Matoc meaning good fortune. #16 THOMAS Son of Thomas. From Old English word, burna. She suspects that many heterosexual couples arent seriously discussing what they want their childs last name to be. #600 ZUNIGA From the town of Estuniga, Spain. "Top 100 Most Common Last Names in the United States." #802 HENDRICKS Family of Hendrick/Heinrich. Most probably used for someone who was brave and formidable in battle. With over 30 billion (seriously!) #281 FULLER Occupational surname for someone who washed cloth in the clothmaking process. #732 BEASLEY From the bent grass clearing. #352 McDANIEL Son of Daniel. Adamik is a very common Polish surname which refers to 'a man' in Hebrew. #464 CASTANEDA Literally translates to chestnut, and might have been used to describe a person with reddish-brown hair or worked a chestnut grove. It didnt match my green card, she told me. #872 McCONNELL From the Gaelic MacDhomhnuill meaning son of Donald/Donal. #934 RICHMOND Habitational surname from any of the towns in England or northern France with that name. #621 RANDALL Son of Rand/Rande. What Kinds of Clothes Do They Wear in Ireland? #202 PIERCE Family of Peter. #42 ADAMS Family of Adam. #733 STEPHENSON Son of Stephen. #253 AUSTIN Family of Augustin/Augustine. #410 ROBBINS Family of Robin. Andrysiak This patronymic polish surname refers to 'Son of Andrzej.' Jennifer entered the tech arena in the 80s as a software developer and database architect, and became a pioneer in the Internet industry. In fact, the suffix "-ez" in Spanish names is a patronymic addition, akin to "son". #717 HOBBS From the family of Hobb, a nickname for Robert. We spent a lot of time downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site. #446 WALTON From the walled town. Grain, wood, etc. Carina is a commonly found Roman last name meaning "beloved". #107 COLEMAN Son of Colum. #899 BERNARD Bold as a bear. #735 HUERTA Lives by the top of a hill or near a fortress. For example, the actor Salma Hayek was born Salma Hayek Jimnez; her parents are named Sami Hayek Domnguez and Diana Jimnez Medina. #70 COOPER Occupational surname for a barrel maker. #749 HURST Someone who lives by a wooded hill. When she and her mother pointed out the error, she said officials told her that they couldnt add spaces in the last-name column. #424 SWANSON Son of Swan or an occupational surname for a herdsman (swain). O'Neill 11. There . #285 ROJAS Red-headed or ruddy complexion. #584 VALENZUELA Habitational surname from several places named Valenzuela in Spain. #895 McKAY From the Gaelic surname MacAodh, literally meaning son of fire. #678 ARROYO Habitational surname from any of numerous places named Arroyo, literally meaning water channel or irrigation channel. #436 CURRY Locational surname for families from a town named Curry. #418 CARDENAS From the land of thorns. #518 CONNER An occupational surname for an inspector of weights and measures. 1408 Sqft. However, they eventually began using their given names as surnames after failing to fend off American colonizers in the 20th century. the third son, after the father. #921 HORNE Occupational surname for someone who carved objects out of horn, or made musical horns (usually made out of animal horn at the time). #774 DAVILA From the village. #280 BURTON From the fortified town. 2. #677 GARRISON Son of Gerard or Gerald. https://www.thoughtco.com/most-common-us-surnames-1422656 (accessed March 4, 2023). #40 FLORES Son of Floro. Hardened meaning battled in war. #983 McCANN From the Gaelic surname MacCana, meaning descendant of the wolf cub. #817 HARDIN Habitational surname for families from any number of towns in England named Harden/Hardin. #256 LAWSON Son of Lawrence #20 MARTIN From the god of Mars. #247 LARSON Son of Lars. #759 SALGADO Galician and Portuguese nickname surname for someone who was witty or wry, from the word salgado meaning salty. #580 HOOVER From the German Huber, meaning plot of land or farm. Literally means little shield. #86 BENNETT Family of Benedict (Blessed). #854 MAYS Either family of Matthew or a nickname for a guy who is a good friend. Or a form of the Irish/Celtic name Conchobhair, meaning Descendant of the Hound/Desire possibly meaning wolf lover. Quinn 20. #619 PITTMAN Lives by a quarry or pit. #199 SPENCER Occupational surname for a butler or steward of a manor. #471 HODGES Family of Roger. #850 BENJAMIN Son of my right hand. #419 PACHECO Noble one, or person from France. #690 SAVAGE Nickname surname for someone who was wild. I am a retired Registered Investment Advisor with 12 years experience as head of an investment management firm. But now that we have briefly explored the origins of names, lets take a look at 50 of the most popular and common last names in the United States. #373 THORNTON Lives in or near the town with thorns. the second son, after the mother's father. #981 GOOD Respected/good person. #114 SIMMONS Family of Simon. #224 HOFFMAN German occupational surname meaning property manager. #783 DEJESUS Follower of Jesus Christ. #222 BERRY From the fortress, castle. #585 BRYAN High, Noble. #268 GILBERT Bright Pledge. #838 HICKMAN Occupational surname for a servant of a man called Hick. #175 ROBERTSON Son of Robert. #484 INGRAM People from England. We appreciate your support! #1000 ARCHER Occupational surname for an archer/bow man. #536 HOGAN From the Irish O Hogain meaning descendent of gn. #999 TANG Vietnamese surname, meaning from the Tang dynasty. Literally means wild olives. #65 COOK Occupational surname for a cook/chef. #259 LYNCH Anglicized version of the Irish surname Loingsigh, meaning descendant of the mariner. #478 ROWE Locational surname of someone who lived by a row of something, or from Rowland, meaning Renowned Wolf. Catholic, like all of the names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. Burke 30. Walsh 5. If new parents make a point of discussing how to structure their childs last name, Mallinson said, they might open up space for a similar explosion of surnames. #779 CONWAY Irish surname from Mac Connmhaigh, a descriptional surname meaning Head Smasher or Mac Connbhuidhe, meaning yellow hound He was asking about an FBI memo citing . . #972 DUDLEY From Duddas clearing Dudda was a nickname for a rotund/heavy person. #196 GRANT Large, great. Literally Priests Town. #485 WISE Wise or educated person. #191 SOTO Lives in or near the small forest. #968 STANTON From the village on stony ground. #529 LINDSEY From Lincolnshire or Lincoln Island. Many of the modern surnames in the dictionary can be traced back to Britain and Ireland. For a lot of partners and family, its habitual and unconscious. This norm is especially striking when compared with other patriarchal relics that have been eroding. Each approach has trade-offs. Although it currently means the religious leader of the Catholic church, it was a title used for clergy of any rank. #355 STEELE Occupational name for a foundry/steel worker. #236 CHAPMAN Occupational surname meaning tradesperson or merchant. #640 ROY Royal, Kingly. As such, you will find many Icelandic surnames ending in -son or -dttir, translating respectively to son of or daughter of, connecting to the genitive form of the father or mothers name preceding it. #891 GOULD Descriptional surname for someone with golden hair or occupational for someone who worked with gold, like a jewelry maker or gilder. #109 HENDERSON Son of Hendrick/Hendry. #225 JOHNSTON From Johns town. #848 CONRAD Brave counsel. Means valor, courage. #919 VILLALOBOS From the town of Villalobos, Spain, meaning the village of wolves. #59 COLLINS Family of Coilean #357 BECKER Either an occupational surname meaning baker or used for a family who lived by a stream. And across the west coast and Hawaii, you might find last names of Asian descent, including Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai, or Japanese. One being an occupational surname for a bow maker. #39 HILL Family who lived near or on a hill. #178 STONE Occupational surname for someone who worked with stone, or a family who lived near a stony area. #955 COFFEY From the Gaelic surname O Cobhthaigh meaning descendant of the victorious. #215 CARROLL Irish surname from the Gaelic O Cearbhaill meaning fierce in battle. For women, taking their husbands last name became a symbol of accepting his authority. Edouard In Puerto Rico, as in many Hispanic cultures, the first surname comes from the father's first surname, and the second one comes from the mother's first surname. McCarthy 14. #945 JARAMILLO Spanish Habitatonal surname for someone from the south of Castilla, Spain, literally referring to a jaramago tree. (S), or less than 100 total occurrences, were "Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races". Learn more about the mythic conflict between the Argives and the Trojans. #240 WATKINS Family of Walter/Watt National Library of Ireland: Parish Registers, galway: Conealy (also commonly spelled Conneely and Connolly). #557 SHEPHERD Occupational surname for a herder of sheep. #626 CHRISTIAN Follower of Christ. #644 VILLA Homestead. #316 FIGUEROA Lives near the fig tree. #789 PALACIOS Spanish surname for someone who lived in a palace or worked in a palace. #158 SIMPSON Son of Simon. (S), or less than 100 total occurrences, were "Non-Hispanic White Only". #960 VO Vietnamese surname meaning fighter/soldier. Sep 2006 - Aug 202115 years. #140 OWENS Son of Owen. #918 PHAN Vietnamese surname of unknown meaning.