family names in england

Top 5 Surnames in England.

• Smith - Occupational surname for one who works with metal.
• Jones - A family name that means son of John.
• Taylor - Occupational name of English origins for one who makes clothing.
• Brown - Related to the complexion of the person, someone with darker skin.
• Williams - A patronymic last name that means son of William.

Full Answer

What are the most common surnames in England?

What are the top 10 English surnames?

• Smith – 632,854.
• Jones – 380,439.
• Taylor – 293,387.
• Brown – 283,795.
• Williams – 271,532.
• Wilson – 195,974.
• Johnson – 191,454.
• Davies – 175,818.

What is the most popular last name in England?

The 25 Most Popular Last Names in the United States

• Smith. According to census records going back to the turn of the 20th century, “Smith” is the most popular name in the US.
• Johnson. Johnson is the second-most popular surname in the US since 1900. ...
• Williams. Williams is a surname commonly used by Americans and is the third-most popular surname in the US since 1900.

What is the most common German last name?

The 10 Most Common German surnames (with English translations)

• Becker - baker
• Fischer - fisherman
• Hoffmann / Hofmann - courtier or steward
• Meier or Meyer - manorial landlord, or later, a self-employed farmer
• Müller - miller
• Schmidt - smith
• Schneider - tailor
• Schulz - sheriff (medieval)
• Wagner - wainwright (maker & repairer of wagons)
• Weber - weaver

What are some old British names?

Old-English: Braden, Brad, Brady, Braid, Bradney, Braeden, Braedon, Bradly: Brandon: fiery hill, sword: Male: Old-English: Branden, Brand, Bran, Brenden, Brendan, Brant, Brent, Brennen, Brennan, Branford: Bray: to cry out: Male: Old-English: Brayden: brave, broad: Male: Old-English: Brayton: Brent: fiery hill, steep hill: Male: Old-English: Brentan: Brewster: brewer: Male: Old-English: Brew: Brinley

What is the most common family name in England?

SmithSmith – the most popular surname in the UK Despite being the most common of the British surnames derived from an occupation, Smith is not the only one. Taylor (taken from the occupational name tailor) is used by 250,780 people in the UK.

What are some UK last names?

The top 50 surnames in England and the number of people who have themSmith - 632,854.Jones - 380,439.Taylor - 293,387.Brown - 283,795.Williams - 271,532.Wilson - 195,974.Johnson - 191,454.Davies - 175,818.More items...•

What are the 7 types of English surnames?

There are 7 types of British surnames. Which one do you have?Place name surnames. ... Characteristic surnames. ... Occupation surnames. ... Geographical surnames. ... Patronage surnames. ... Patronymic or matronymic. ... Estate surnames.

What are the 10 most common surnames in England?

Most Common Last Names In EnglandRankSurnameIncidence1Smith632,8542Jones380,4413Taylor293,3874Brown283,796119 more rows

What are some royal last names?

Famous Last Names of Royalty in EuropeAgnes — Past Prince Reuss of Gera.Alpin — The first king of the Scots surname.Augustus — The surname of Rome's emperor.Balliol — King John Balliol.Barclay — Chamberlain of Scotland.Bergoglio — Pope Francis's last name (He was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio.)More items...•

What are posh last names?

Popular Rich Last Names Or Surnames, With MeaningsAlbrecht. Meaning: Noble, Famous (German) ... Armani. Meaning: Free (Italian) ... Arnoult. Meaning: Eagle ruler (German) ... Astor. Meaning: Hawk (French) ... Augustus. Meaning: Venerable (Greek) ... Baldwin. Meaning: Brave (German) ... Balenciaga. ... Bamford.More items...•

What is the oldest surname in England?

HattThe oldest English surname on record was actually from East Anglia. Believe it or not, the oldest recorded English name is Hatt. An Anglo-Saxon family with the surname Hatt are mentioned in a Norman transcript, and is identified as a pretty regular name in the county.

What is the rarest surname in the UK?

Not Smith and Jones – Rare British Surnames On The Cusp Of...Sallow (English) ... Fernsby (English) ... Villin or Villan (English) ... Miracle (Welsh) ... Dankworth (English) ... Relish (English) ... MacQuoid (Scottish) ... Loughty (Scottish)More items...•

What are the top 10 most common surnames?

Most Common Last NamesSmith. 2,376,206.Johnson. 1,857,160.Williams. 1,534,042.Brown. 1,380,145.Jones. 1,362,755.Miller. 1,127,803.Davis. 1,072,335.Garcia. 858,289.More items...

What's a good English last name?

The most common family names in EnglishrankEnglandUSA1SmithSmith2JonesJohnson3WilliamsWilliams4BrownBrown6 more rows

What is the best last name?

The Most Popular Last NamesSURNAMERANKPROPORTION PER 100,000 POPULATIONSMITH1828.2JOHNSON2655.2WILLIAMS3551.0BROWN4487.223 more rows

What are the top 5 surnames?

Using Census Bureau data, 24/7 Wall Street compiled a list of the top 50 last names in the U.S. Here's what they found:Smith.Johnson.Williams.Brown.Jones.Garcia.Miller.Davis.More items...•

Where did the last name of the UK come from?

The United Kingdom last names are popular worldwide. While Welsh and Scottish last names originate from the Celtic languages like Cymric and Scots Gaelic, UK English last names usually originate from places, ancestors, occupations, or anglicisations of first names in other languages.

When did the British surname become hereditary?

Later by 1400, surnames became hereditary. This alphabetically arranged list of rare British surnames can be a useful tool in genealogy. Each of these rare British surnames has a unique history with reference to their origin across regions of the United Kingdom.

What does the last name Fletcher mean?

23. Fletcher. Derived from Scottish, English and Irish origin, this occupational surname refers to ‘Arrowsmith’ or ‘Seller of Arrows’.

What is the meaning of the last name James?

It refers to a ‘Supplanter’ or ‘One who follows’. 40. Jenkins. Derived from John, Jenkins originated from Cornwall, England, this surname refers to ‘God has graced me with a son’ .

What is the origin of the name "Brown"?

It may also have originated as an occupational name for a bell ringer or bell maker. 9. Brown. Derived from 7th century Old English word ‘bru n’ or the Old Norse name Bruni, this surname describes a person with brown complexion or clothing.

British Family Names

Abbot, Abdy, Abell, Aberton, Abingdon or Abington, Achard, Acherton, Ackers, Ackland, Ackroyd, Acre, Acton, Adams, Adderley, Adington, Adison or Addison, Adler, Adlington, Agard, Ainsworth, Albany, Alberton, Alborough, Alcock, Alden, Alderson, Aldham, Aldred, Aldridge, Aldrington, Aldworth, Alexander, Alford, Alfred, Alfrey, Allen, Allenson, Allerton, Alley, Allgood, Allington, Alsop, Alston, Ambrose, Ames, Amos, Anderson, Anderton, Andesley, Andrew, Andrews, Angell, Anne, Annesley, Anthony, Antrobus, Appleby, Appleton, Appleyard, Archard, Archdeacon, Archer, Arden, Arderne, Armiger, Armitage, Arnest, Arnet, Arnold, Arras, Arrowsmith, Arundell, Ascot, Ascough, Ascue, Ashborne, Ashbury, Ashby, Ashe, Ashfield, Ashford, Ashley, Ashman, Ashton, Ashurst, Ashworth, Aske, Askew, Aslin, Astley, Aston, Atherton, Atkins, Atkinson, Atley, Atton, Atwater, Atwell, Atwood, Aubrey, Aucher, Audley, Auncell, Austen, Austin, Avery, Ayerst, Aylward, Aylworth, Ayre.

in alphabetical order

Abbot, Abdy, Abell, Aberton, Abingdon or Abington, Achard, Acherton, Ackers, Ackland, Ackroyd, Acre, Acton, Adams, Adderley, Adington, Adison or Addison, Adler, Adlington, Agard, Ainsworth, Albany, Alberton, Alborough, Alcock, Alden, Alderson, Aldham, Aldred, Aldridge, Aldrington, Aldworth, Alexander, Alford, Alfred, Alfrey, Allen, Allenson, Allerton, Alley, Allgood, Allington, Alsop, Alston, Ambrose, Ames, Amos, Anderson, Anderton, Andesley, Andrew, Andrews, Angell, Anne, Annesley, Anthony, Antrobus, Appleby, Appleton, Appleyard, Archard, Archdeacon, Archer, Arden, Arderne, Armiger, Armitage, Arnest, Arnet, Arnold, Arras, Arrowsmith, Arundell, Ascot, Ascough, Ascue, Ashborne, Ashbury, Ashby, Ashe, Ashfield, Ashford, Ashley, Ashman, Ashton, Ashurst, Ashworth, Aske, Askew, Aslin, Astley, Aston, Atherton, Atkins, Atkinson, Atley, Atton, Atwater, Atwell, Atwood, Aubrey, Aucher, Audley, Auncell, Austen, Austin, Avery, Ayerst, Aylward, Aylworth, Ayre.

Online Tools

British Surnames Research the origins and distribution of your surname.

Surnames

A patronymic surname is a surname originated from the given name of the father.

Given Names

When they were christened, children usually received one or two given names. Some were named after parents or other relatives.

Why are surnames called last names?

Surnames or last names? In England, surnames are also commonly known as last names due to the practice of writing the given names first and then the family name or surname last. However, this is not necessarily true of other cultures, where the family name may be written first as part of a person's full name.

What is the study of surnames?

The study of surnames, or family names, can be a useful tool in genealogy as well as being a fascinating topic in its own right. Known variously as anthroponymy, anthroponomastics or onomastics, surname sudies can give a rich insight into the development of human society.

Where did the last name John Farrier come from?

Common surname origins. Surnames were originally introduced into England by the Normans in 1066, and the practice began to spread. Initially, surnames were fluid and changed from generation to generation, or even as a person changed his job - "John Blacksmith" may have become "John Farrier" as his trade developed.

Is it correct to use "last name" and "surname" interchangeably?

It is, therefore, not always strictly correct to use the terms "surname" and "last name" interchangeably. Although most British last names are surnames, this website generally sticks to the term "surname" in order to avoid ambiguity. Other common synonyms for "surname" include cognomen, patronymic, metronymic and matronymic.

Can a given name evolve into a surname?

Finally, many given names evolved directly into surnames without any change. Where a child was christened with two or more baptismal names, the last name would be adopted as a surname. So the given names "John Gilbert", for example, would result in later generations taking Gilbert as a surname.

Patrick Hanks , Richard Coates , and Peter McClure

This huge new dictionary is the ultimate reference work on family names of the UK, covering English, Scottish, Welsh, Irish, Cornish, and immigrant surnames. It includes every surname that currently has more than 100 bearers, and those that had more than 20 bearers in the 1881 census.

Bibliographic Information

Patrick Hanks holds research professorships at the Bristol Centre for Linguistics in the University of the West of England, and at the Research Institute of Information and Language Processing in the University of Wolverhampton. He is an expert lexicographer, corpus linguist, and onomastician.

Country Information

England is one of the four constituent countries of the United Kingdom (together with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland ). It has a history that goes back over a thousand years. In 1707, the Kingdom of England joined the Kingdom of Scotland in union to become the Kingdom of Great Britain. The official language is English.

Why England Historic Counties are Used

The England counties listed below are based on historic boundaries pre-1974. The records dating before 1974 are located within the information found in the historic counties. This practice better assists our patrons who are researching their ancestors before the modern time period.

England Clickable Map

Genealogy records are kept at the Parish level in England. The map below shows county boundaries as of 1851. Click on a county below to go to the county Wiki article listing more information.

Counties and Parishes

The England counties listed below are based on historic boundaries pre-1974. Genealogy records are kept on the county and parish level in England. Click on a county or parish name below to go to the relevant wiki article listing more information.

More England Research Strategies

Research strategies give guidance on how to research or what records to search for first. Below are additional research strategy Wiki articles for England Genealogy Research.

More England Research Tools

Research tools include resources that assist in locating correct records in the locality they are kept in. Below are links and Wiki articles which can be used as research tools for England.

FamilySearch Resources

Below are FamilySearch resources that can assist you in researching your family.