Most Common Last Names in Idaho

Top 3 — Idaho

#2 english

Johnson

Patronymic

11,000 people

1 in every 143 Idaho residents

Means 'son of John,' rooted in the Hebrew Yohanan. LDS converts from Scandinavia and the Midwest carried the name into southern Idaho during the homestead era of the 1870s–1890s.

#1 english

Smith

Occupational

13,800 people

1 in every 114 Idaho residents

Derived from the Old English smið, meaning a metalworker or blacksmith. Idaho's mining camps and railroad towns of the late 1800s drew many Smith families to settlements like Kellogg and Pocatello.

#3 welsh

Williams

Patronymic

10,000 people

1 in every 157 Idaho residents

Means 'son of William,' from the Germanic Willahelm. Welsh and English settlers brought the name into northern Idaho's Clearwater timber country in the late nineteenth century.

Name origins â€” top 20 surnames

Name origins - top 20 surnames

Name origins — top 20 surnames

Heritage

Pioneer, Basque, and Hispanic Roots

LDS converts from Scandinavia homesteaded southern Idaho's Snake River Plain from the 1870s onward, planting surnames like Anderson across Bonneville and Madison counties. Basque immigrants arrived from the 1890s as sheepherders in the Owyhee high desert, building a lasting enclave in Boise. From the 1960s, Hispanic farmworkers drawn by potato and dairy operations anchored surnames like Martinez and Garcia across Jerome and Minidoka counties.

Did you know? Boise hosts one of the highest concentrations of Basque Americans per capita of any U.S. city, preserving surnames found almost nowhere else in the country.

Top 20 Most Common Last Names in Idaho

Showing all 20 surnames

Tap a name to expand meaning

Smith english

13,800

1 in 114

Derived from the Old English smið, meaning a metalworker or blacksmith. Idaho's mining camps and railroad towns of the late 1800s drew many Smith families to settlements like Kellogg and Pocatello.

Johnson english

11,000

1 in 143

Means 'son of John,' rooted in the Hebrew Yohanan. LDS converts from Scandinavia and the Midwest carried the name into southern Idaho during the homestead era of the 1870s–1890s.

Williams welsh

10,000

1 in 157

Means 'son of William,' from the Germanic Willahelm. Welsh and English settlers brought the name into northern Idaho's Clearwater timber country in the late nineteenth century.

Brown english

8,400

1 in 187

An Old English nickname for someone with brown hair or a swarthy complexion. Brown families appear among the earliest American settlers in Ada County and the Boise Basin gold rush of the 1860s.

Jones welsh

7,800

1 in 201

A Welsh patronymic meaning 'son of John,' one of the most carried names from the British Isles. Jones families settled across Latah County's Palouse wheat farms in the late 1880s.

Anderson english

7,500

1 in 209

Means 'son of Andrew,' brought by Scandinavian LDS converts who anglicized forms like the Danish Andersen. Bonneville and Madison counties in eastern Idaho show particularly dense Anderson concentrations from organized LDS colonization.

Miller english

7,200

1 in 218

Derived from the occupation of operating a grain mill. German and English Miller families settled Idaho's Snake River valley towns, where flour milling served farming communities through the early twentieth century.

Davis welsh

7,000

1 in 224

A Welsh patronymic meaning 'son of David.' Davis families were among the early Mormon colonizers of the upper Snake River Plain, with concentrations recorded in Jefferson County.

Wilson english

6,300

1 in 249

Means 'son of Will,' common across English-speaking pioneer communities. Wilson families appear in Nez Perce County records connected to the early Lewiston grain and lumber trades.

#10

Taylor english

5,700

1 in 275

From the Old French tailleur, meaning a tailor or cutter of cloth. Taylor families settled throughout the Boise Valley in the territorial period, with concentrations recorded in Canyon County.

#11

Thompson english

5,600

1 in 280

Means 'son of Thomas,' with roots in both northern English and Scandinavian naming traditions. Northern Idaho's Kootenai County drew Thompson families during the mining and railroad booms of the late 1800s.

#12

Martinez spanish

5,500

1 in 285

A Spanish patronymic meaning 'son of Martín,' itself from the Latin Martinus. Martinez families grew rapidly in Jerome and Twin Falls counties from the 1960s onward as Hispanic labor became central to the dairy and potato industries.

#13

Garcia spanish

5,300

1 in 296

Of uncertain origin, possibly from a place name or a Basque root meaning 'young.' Garcia ranks among the most common surnames in Idaho's Magic Valley, reflecting decades of agricultural migration from Mexico.

#14

Thomas english

4,700

1 in 334

From the Aramaic meaning 'twin,' carried into English through Greek and Latin. Thomas families are well represented in Gem and Payette counties, settled by Midwestern farmers along the Weiser River in the early 1900s.

#15

Moore english

4,700

1 in 334

An English habitational name for someone living near a moor or open heath. Moore families appear in early Boise Valley land records and among ranchers in the Owyhee high desert from the 1870s onward.

#16

Jackson english

4,400

1 in 356

Means 'son of Jack,' a medieval diminutive of John. Jackson families settled Fremont County in eastern Idaho during the late homestead era, drawn by the region's timber and agricultural land.

#17

White english

4,400

1 in 356

An Old English nickname for a person with fair hair or a pale complexion. White families were among the early Anglo-American settlers of Boise and the Treasure Valley following the 1860s gold rush.

#18

Harris english

4,200

1 in 373

A patronymic from Harry, the medieval English form of Henry. Harris families established farms in Gooding and Lincoln counties on the Snake River Plain during the early irrigation era.

#19

Martin english

4,100

1 in 382

From the Latin Martinus, a name rooted in Mars, the Roman god of war. Martin is shared by both Anglo-American pioneer families in northern Idaho and Hispanic farmworker families in the Magic Valley.

#20

Lewis welsh

3,900

1 in 402

A Welsh form of Louis, derived from the Germanic Hlodwig. Lewis County in north-central Idaho bears the explorer's surname, and Lewis families settled the Camas Prairie wheat farms in the 1890s.

Local Insight

Uniquely Idaho

These family names rank far higher in Idaho than nationally — a direct fingerprint of the state's specific immigration waves.

Sorensen danish

Ranked #150 in Idaho versus #1000 nationally. That is 850 spots higher here.

Danish LDS converts settled Idaho's Snake River Plain in organized colonization efforts from the 1870s through 1900s. The name's density in Bonneville and Madison counties traces directly to those settlement waves rather than general Scandinavian immigration.

Jauregui basque

Ranked #800 in Idaho versus #3500 nationally. That is 2700 spots higher here.

Basque immigrants arrived in southwestern Idaho from the 1890s as sheepherders ranging across the Owyhee high desert. Boise's Basque Block sustained a concentrated community that kept surnames like Jauregui alive across generations.

Archibald scottish

Ranked #600 in Idaho versus #2500 nationally. That is 1900 spots higher here.

Scottish and Scots-Irish settlers moved into the Clearwater River region of northern Idaho during the 1890s timber boom. Nez Perce and Clearwater counties show a disproportionate share of Scottish surnames relative to the national average.

Etymology

Idaho Last Name Meanings: Occupational, Patronymic & Habitational

English Patronymics

Surnames like Johnson, Wilson, Davis, and Harris—each meaning 'son of' a given name—dominate Idaho's top-20 list. Midwestern and British pioneer families carried them across the Snake River Plain and northern timber regions from the 1860s through the early 1900s.

Johnson (son of John) Wilson (son of Will) Davis (son of David) Harris (son of Harry) Jackson (son of Jack)

English Occupational Names

Smith, Miller, and Taylor reflect trades essential to frontier Idaho's mining camps, flour-milling river towns, and railroad settlements. Smith is Idaho's most common last name and traces to metalworking skills in demand from the Boise Basin gold rush onward.

Smith (metalworker) Miller (grain miller) Taylor (cloth cutter)

Spanish & Hispanic Surnames

Martinez and Garcia rank in Idaho's top 15, concentrated in Jerome, Twin Falls, and Minidoka counties. Hispanic farmworker migration beginning in the 1960s for potato and dairy work drove this growth, making popular last names in Idaho now impossible to discuss without them.

Martinez (son of Martín) Garcia (uncertain; possibly Basque origin) Lopez (son of Lope) Hernandez (son of Hernando)

Scandinavian Names

Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian LDS converts settled eastern Idaho's Snake River Plain through organized colonization from the 1870s to 1900s. Anderson, Thompson, and Sorensen remain dense in Bonneville, Madison, and Bingham counties today as a direct result.

Anderson (son of Anders) Thompson (son of Thomas, via Norse tradition) Sorensen (son of Søren)

Quick Answers

What are the most common last names in Idaho?

The most common last names in Idaho are Smith, Johnson, Williams, Brown, and Jones, with Anderson, Miller, Davis, Martinez, and Garcia also ranking high. The statewide list mixes older Anglo settlement with later Scandinavian, Basque, and Hispanic influences.

What surnames reflect Idaho's Basque heritage?

Basque surnames such as Jauregui, Uberuaga, and Etcheverry appear in southwestern Idaho, centered around Boise. Basque immigrants arrived from the 1890s as sheepherders in the Owyhee high desert and built one of the most concentrated Basque communities in the United States.

Why are Spanish surnames like Martinez and Garcia so common in Idaho?

Hispanic farmworkers began settling Idaho's Magic Valley from the 1960s onward to work in the potato and dairy industries. Counties like Jerome and Minidoka saw rapid growth in common surnames in Idaho of Spanish origin over subsequent decades.

Sources

U.S. Census Bureau — Frequently Occurring Surnames — 2010 Census surname frequency data — primary source for all counts, ratios, and rankings
Basque Museum & Cultural Center, Boise — Documentation of Basque immigration history and the development of the Boise Basque community

Information is cross-referenced with official state archives.

#1 Surname: Smith
People named #1: 13,800
1 in every: 114 residents
Top origin: English
State population: 1,567,582
Census year: 2010

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Most Common Last Names in Idaho

Pioneer, Basque, and Hispanic Roots

Top 20 Most Common Last Names in Idaho

Uniquely Idaho