US Census last names in 2020: Smith stays top as Asian surnames grow fastest

Asian surnames rose the quickest in the United States between 2010 and 2020, even as the top family names stayed the same, the US Census Bureau said Tuesday. The bureau’s latest count came from the 2020 Census. It showed little movement among the most common surnames nationwide.

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Smith, Johnson, Williams, Brown, and Jones kept the top five positions in 2020. The next group in the 2020 top 10 was Garcia, Miller, Rodriguez, Davis, and Martinez. Rodriguez was the only name that shifted place. It moved ahead of Davis to take the No. 8 spot.

Asian surnames fastest-growing in US Census Bureau list

The Census Bureau said most of the fastest-growing surnames from 2010 to 2020 were Asian. The top three in that growth list were Zhang, Liu, and Wang. The bureau did not say these were among the most common overall. It described them as the quickest rising during the decade.

The agency has published lists of the most common last names for each census since 1990. The 2020 Census also marked a change in first-name reporting. It was the first census since 1990 to include data on first names. Separately, the Social Security Administration tracks popular baby names each year.

US Census Bureau first names show limited change since 1990

The 2020 Census tally listed Michael, John, James, David, and Robert as the most common male first names. It also named Mary, Maria, Jennifer, Elizabeth, and Patricia as the most common female first names. The Census Bureau count covers the whole population. It is not limited to newborn children.

Earlier census data showed a similar pattern in 1990. At that time, the most common male first names were James, John, Robert, Michael, and William. The most common female first names were Mary, Patricia, Linda, Barbara, and Elizabeth. The latest results suggested that the overall rankings shifted only slightly.

Jonah Berger, a professor of marketing at the University of Pennsylvania, linked naming patterns to everyday exposure. "The names people choose are a function of what they are exposed to, so culture certainly plays a role, but so does social influence,\" Berger said Jonah Berger. Berger also said repeated contact with names can shape both preferences and dislikes.

The Census Bureau’s 2020 results pointed to stability in common US surnames, alongside quicker growth for several Asian family names. The first-name figures also showed broad continuity across decades. By using census data, the bureau aimed to reflect naming patterns across all residents, rather than only new births.

With inputs from PTI