Asian surnames have been the fastest-growing in the U.S., according to Census Bureau report
Apr 14, 2026, 8:45 AM
FILE - Shown is a 2020 census letter mailed to a U.S. resident, in Glenside, Pa., March 19, 2020. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS
(AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The most popular last names in the U.S might be unchanged from the previous decade, but Asian surnames were the fastest-growing at the start of this decade, the U.S. Census Bureau said Tuesday.
“Smith,” “Johnson,” “Williams,” “Brown,” and Jones,” remained the top five last names in the United States in 2020, as they were in 2010, according to a tally from the last U.S. head count. Most of the fastest-growing last names from 2010 to 2020 were Asian, according to the Census Bureau.
The top three of those were “Zhang,” “Liu,” and “Wang.”
Rounding out the top 10 most common last names in 2020 were “Garcia,” “Miller,” “Rodriguez,” “Davis,” and “Martinez.” The only change from 2010 was “Rodriguez” which jumped ahead of “Davis” for the No. 8 spot.
The Census Bureau has tallied counts of the most common last names in each once-a-decade head count since the 1990 Census. The 2020 Census was the first since 1990 to provide data on first names, although the Social Security Administration keeps a count of the most popular male and female first names for babies each year.
The Census tally showed that the most popular male first names at the start of this decade were “Michael,” “John,” “James,” “David,” and “Robert,” while the most common female first names were “Mary,” “Maria,” “Jennifer,” “Elizabeth,” and “Patricia.”
Not too much has changed since 1990. Back then, the most popular male first names were “James,” “John,” “Robert,” “Michael,” and “William.” The most popular female first names were “Mary,” “Patricia,” “Linda,” “Barbara,” and “Elizabeth.”
Unlike the Social Security Administration’s count, the Census Bureau’s tally includes everyone, not just newborns.
“The names people choose are a function of what they are exposed to, so culture certainly plays a role, but so does social influence,” said Jonah Berger, a professor of marketing at the University of Pennsylvania. “People are constantly exposed to names of others around them, and that can shape not only which names they like, but also which ones they avoid.”
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