Common last names

[slobake]

I work in a industry where I often have to do a search for someone by their last name. There was a time when names like Smith and Jones were quite popular. That is still true but here in California there are some other last names that are now becoming more common. I just did a search for someone with the last name of Patel, hoo boy where there a lot of people with that name. Also Nguyen has become a very common name around here.
There are also an awful lot of people with the last name of Lee. Not sure if that is recent or has been going on for a long time.
I have no doubt this is a reflection of the ever changing demographics in our country. Two hundred years ago you probably would not have found too many people named Murphy but it wasn't long until there were a whole lot of people named Murphy in U.S.
Are there other names that are becoming more commonplace where you live?

 

[Gorn]

I know at least a dozen Wongs and work with six Singhs and two Patels. One girl in my department is a Rodriguez and another is a Rodriguez Rodriguez.

 

[Stumbo]

Smith

 

[slobake]

I know at least a dozen Wongs and work with six Singhs and two Patels. One girl in my department is a Rodriguez and another is a Rodriguez Rodriguez.

Rodriguez Rodriguez? No hyphen?

 

[slobake]

Smith

Why I oughta ...

 

[tlc1976]

Anderson seems pretty popular, but always has been a common last name IMO.

I don't know of any last names becoming more popular.

Go to any small town and you'll find one or a few names that dominate the place, and always have.

 

[the harp unstrung]

My family name is extremely recognizable...to the point that (weekly? monthly?) someone behind the counter makes the connection between my name (the Scottish word for ‘church’) and a popular fictional character.
I wink and tell them ‘Wow, I’d never thought of That before!’

I don’t think I’ve ever met another person with my family name who wasn’t a member of my family.

 

[shadowtippy]

My last name is fairly common. A lot of my family has it.

 

[two fingers]

I work in a industry where I often have to do a search for someone by their last name. There was a time when names like Smith and Jones were quite popular. That is still true but here in California there are some other last names that are now becoming more common. I just did a search for someone with the last name of Patel, hoo boy where there a lot of people with that name. Also Nguyen has become a very common name around here.
There are also an awful lot of people with the last name of Lee. Not sure if that is recent or has been going on for a long time.
I have no doubt this is a reflection of the ever changing demographics in our country. Two hundred years ago you probably would not have found too many people named Murphy but it wasn't long until there were a whole lot of people named Murphy in U.S.
Are there other names that are becoming more commonplace where you live?

If you can find two hotels in a row here not owned by a Patel I will kiss your foot. Same goes for gas stations.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

I used to work with a bunch of British guys named John, very popular first name for the age group.
Ironically they almost all had first names for surnames:

Earl
James
Stanley
etc.

 

[Alkali Ike]

Isn’t Nguyen like the Smith or Jones of Vietnam?

 

[Alkali Ike]

Also I have total respect for immigrants to the US who don’t “Americanize” their name. I worked with a guy named Dong. Couldn’t help wondering why he didn’t go by “Doug” or “Don”. He was Dong and by god Dong was a very valued and respected 5-star employee.

 

[MJ5150]

There is actually a lot of anonymity with a last name Jones.

-Mike

 

[hbarcat]

My last name is French Canadian and is very rare in the U.S. I have to spell it for most people. In Canada it's pretty common, of course. A few years ago, there were 3 NHL players with the same last name as mine.

 

[tlc1976]

My last name is French Canadian and is very rare in the U.S. I have to spell it for most people. In Canada it's pretty common, of course. A few years ago, there were 3 NHL players with the same last name as mine.

Same for mine. Wonder if it's the same one. I don't follow NHL but there's at least one player with the name.

 

[Funky Ghost]

It wont be my last name that's for sure. It was an Ellis Island mistake. If there is anyone in America with the last name Carol, I'm related to them. It was my grandfathers girlfriends name. He didn't speak English and no one on Ellis Island spoke Latvian. So instead of Korolev we are now Carol.

 

[Tom Bomb]

My last name's Bomb. All too common