USA: Most popular last names Quiz — Rules & What Counts
This quiz shows a board with 20 slots. Each slot holds one of the 20 most common last names in the United States. Rank 1 is the most common name in the country. Type a name to reveal its slot.
The ranking counts the whole living population, not only newborn babies. That is why the classic names of older generations often rank above today's fashionable ones.
How to play
Type a name into the box. A correct name reveals itself at its rank at once — you do not press Enter.
The colors run from gold at rank 1 down to a muted slate at rank 20. Every correct name is worth one point.
The timer starts with your first key press and counts up. There is no time limit.
Select Give up to end the run and see your result.
After the run, select "Reveal names" to see the names you missed.
What counts in this quiz
The board holds the 20 most common last names in the United States, ranked from most common down.
Accents do not matter. "Jose" counts for "José", and "Muller" counts for "Müller".
Common alternate spellings and transliterations of the same name count as that name.
A name that is also the start of a longer name on the board reveals first. Type the longer name again to reveal it too.
What's not included — and why
Names outside the top 20 do not count. A guess that is not on the board changes nothing — there is no penalty.
Rare spellings of a name that almost nobody uses do not count.
Good to know
About 2.4 million Americans share the surname Smith, from the blacksmith trade.
Six Spanish-language surnames sit in the US top 15, led by Garcia at number 6.
Nine of the US top 20 end in -son or -s — old patronymics meaning 'son of'.