Here are the most popular last names in SC, Ancestry.com says. See how they compare to other states

Patrick McCreless
Josh Bell/jbell@thesunnews.com

What’s in a name?

And why are there so many Smiths?

The genealogy website ancestry.com recently released a map showing the three most popular last names in each state. You might be able to guess one of the most popular surnames in South Carolina, but how about the top three?

It turns out that Smith, Williams and Brown are the most common last names in the Palmetto State. And according to ancestry.com, much of the Southeast is very similar.

North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana all have Smith and Williams as top last names. However, South Carolina still stands out a bit, given that instead of Brown, all those other Southeastern states have Johnson as their third top surname.

Ancestry.com notes that overall, Johnson, Miller, Jones, Williams and Anderson make up most of the popular last names in the U.S. Still, there are some other regional differences.

In the Northwest, there’s more likely to be Andersons than Browns, which are more common on the east coast. Meanwhile, the Southwest has plenty of last name variety, given that Texas, California, New Mexico and Arizona have large Latino populations. Last names such as Garcia, Hernandez, Martinez and Chavez are more common.

And in Hawaii, the most popular surnames are Lee, Wong and Kim, which don’t pop up at the top of the list in any other state.

Here are the most popular last names in each state, according to ancestry.com.

  • Alabama: Smith, Williams, Johnson

  • Alaska: Smith, Johnson, Williams

  • Arizona: Smith, Johnson, Garcia

  • Arkansas: Smith, Williams, Johnson

  • California: Garcia, Hernandez, Lopez

  • Colorado: Smith, Johnson, Martinez

  • Connecticut: Smith, Johnson, Brown

  • Delaware: Smith, Johnson, Brown

  • Florida: Smith, Williams, Johnson

  • Georgia: Smith, Williams, Johnson

  • Hawaii: Lee, Wong, Kim

  • Idaho: Smith, Johnson, Anderson

  • Illinois: Smith, Johnson, Williams

  • Indiana: Smith, Miller, Johnson

  • Iowa: Smith, Williams, Johnson

  • Kansas: Smith, Johnson, Miller

  • Kentucky: Smith, Johnson, Jones

  • Louisiana: Williams, Smith, Johnson

  • Maine: Smith, Brown, Johnson

  • Maryland: Smith, Johnson, Jones

  • Massachusetts: Smith, Johnson, Sullivan

  • Michigan: Smith, Johnson, Williams

  • Minnesota: Johnson, Anderson, Nelson

  • Mississippi: Smith, Williams, Johnson

  • Missouri: Smith, Johnson, Williams

  • Montana: Smith, Johnson, Anderson

  • Nebraska: Johnson, Smith, Miller

  • Nevada: Smith, Johnson, Garcia

  • New Hampshire: Smith, Brown, Johnson

  • New Jersey: Smith, Williams, Johnson

  • New Mexico: Martinez, Garcia, Chavez

  • New York: Smith, Williams, Brown

  • North Carolina: Smith, Williams, Johnson

  • North Dakota: Johnson, Anderson, Olson

  • Ohio: Smith, Miller, Johnson

  • Oklahoma: Smith, Johnson, Williams

  • Oregon: Smith, Johnson, Miller

  • Pennsylvania: Smith, Miller, Williams

  • Rhode Island: Smith, Brown, Johnson

  • South Carolina: Smith, Williams, Brown

  • South Dakota: Johnson, Anderson, Smith

  • Tennessee: Smith, Johnson, Jones

  • Texas: Garcia, Smith, Martinez

  • Utah: Smith, Johnson, Anderson

  • Vermont: Smith, Brown, Johnson

  • Virginia: Smith, Johnson, Jones

  • Washington: Smith, Johnson, Anderson

  • West Virginia: Smith, Miller, Johnson

  • Wisconsin: Johnson, Smith, Anderson

  • Wyoming: Smith, Johnson, Miller

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