America is still dominated by people named Smith, Johnson, Williams, Brown and Jones. But the Garcias now outnumber the Millers and Davises, and people named Martinez, Hernandez, Lopez, Gonzalez and Perez are on the rise.
How common is your last name? Ranks are changing
December 18, 2016 at 12:22AM
Data released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau about America's most common surnames reflect the nation's growing Hispanic and Asian populations, even as the top five names — common for white and black families — remain unchanged from the past decade.
The names with the greatest percent change in frequency are mostly Asian, such as: Zhang, Li, Ali, Liu and Khan. Also among the fastest-growing were Hispanic names Vazquez, Bautista and Velazquez.
The data, based on the 2010 Census, doesn't break down common surnames by state. Still, we looked up a few of the more classic Minnesota names to see how they rank nationally. In all cases, there are more people with these names now than in 2000, but they've all dropped in the rankings.
Anderson: More than 780,000 people reported having this name, putting it in 15th place. But that's down from 12th highest a decade ago.
Nelson: About 425,000 people have this name. Its 43rd ranking is down three spots.
Olson: About 164,000 people put this name at 157th, a big drop from 136th in 2000.
Peterson: About 278,000 people, and its rank dropped eight spots to land at 71st most common.
Go to startribune.com/datadrop for a searchable database to see where your name ranks.
MaryJo Webster • 612-673-1789
