What your last name says about your family

Most English-language surnames began between the 1100s and 1400s, when villages grew and one first name was no longer enough to tell people apart. Nearly every surname falls into one of four groups.

Occupational

Named for a job: Smith, Miller, Baker, Taylor.

Patronymic

Named for a father: Johnson, Rodriguez, Murphy.

Locational

Named for a place: Hill, Green, Moore, Lee.

Descriptive

Named for a look or trait: Brown, White, Young.

1. A job your ancestor did

Occupational names are the most common in English. Smith, the most common surname in the United States, meant a metalworker. Miller ground grain, Walker thickened cloth by trampling it, Cooper made barrels and Wright built things. The German Schmidt and the Gujarati Patel are occupational names too.

2. Your ancestor’s father

Patronymic names point to a father. English adds -son (Johnson, Wilson), Welsh often adds -s (Jones, Williams), Spanish adds -ez (Rodriguez, Martinez) and Irish uses Ó or Mac (Murphy, Kelly).

3. Where they lived

Locational names describe a place: a Hill, the village Green, a moor or a clearing (Lee). Some name a whole country, like Scott.

4. How they looked or acted

Descriptive names began as nicknames: Brown and White for hair or skin color, Young to tell a son from a father, and King, often for someone who played the king in a village pageant.

Look up your name

A surname tells you how the name began, not who your ancestors were. Many unrelated families adopted the same name, and spellings changed at immigration and over time.