Top 3 — Kansas
Patronymic meaning 'son of John,' carried by both English and Scandinavian settlers. Among the earliest surnames recorded in eastern Kansas when the territory opened for settlement in 1854.
Occupational name for a metalworker, from Old English 'smið.' Smiths were essential tradespeople in the cattle towns of Abilene and Dodge City during Kansas's frontier era.
Patronymic from the Germanic given name William, meaning 'will-helmet.' Welsh and English settlers carried it into the Kaw River valley during Kansas's territorial period.
Name origins — top 20 surnames
Name origins - top 20 surnamesName origins — top 20 surnames
Heritage
Pioneer Settlers, Mennonite Farmers & Meatpacking Communities
German-Russian Mennonites arrived in Harvey, Reno, and McPherson counties in the 1870s, introducing distinctive surnames like Unruh and Friesen. English and Scots-Irish pioneers staked claims across eastern Kansas during the territorial era. Since the 1980s, Hispanic workers drawn to Garden City and Liberal meatpacking plants have made Garcia and Martinez fixtures of southwest Kansas.
Did you know? Lindsborg in Saline County, settled by Swedish immigrants in 1869, earned the nickname 'Little Sweden' and remains the most concentrated Scandinavian surname community on the central plains.
Top 20 Most Common Last Names in Kansas
Showing all 20 surnames
#1
Smith
english
27,100
1 in 105
#2
Johnson
english
23,100
1 in 124
#3
Williams
welsh
20,000
1 in 143
#4
Brown
english
18,300
1 in 156
#5
Jones
welsh
16,300
1 in 175
#6
Davis
welsh
14,000
1 in 204
#7
Miller
english
13,700
1 in 208
#8
Wilson
english
12,000
1 in 238
#9
Moore
english
10,600
1 in 269
#10
Taylor
english
10,000
1 in 285
#11
Anderson
english
9,400
1 in 304
#12
Thomas
welsh
8,600
1 in 332
#13
Martin
french
8,000
1 in 357
#14
Jackson
english
7,700
1 in 371
#15
White
english
7,400
1 in 386
#16
Harris
english
7,100
1 in 402
#17
Thompson
english
7,100
1 in 402
#18
Garcia
spanish
7,100
1 in 402
#19
Martinez
spanish
6,300
1 in 453
#20
Clark
english
6,000
1 in 476
Local Insight
Uniquely Kansas
These family names rank far higher in Kansas than nationally — a direct fingerprint of the state's specific immigration waves.
Ranked #450 in Kansas versus #2000 nationally. That is 1550 spots higher here.
Derived from German 'Unruhe' (restlessness), this Mennonite surname is concentrated in Harvey and Reno counties. German-Russian Mennonites from the Molotschna colony settled there in 1874, making central Kansas the US center of this name.
Ranked #550 in Kansas versus #2500 nationally. That is 1950 spots higher here.
A Low German name denoting someone from Friesland, brought to Harvey and Reno counties by Mennonite settlers in 1874. Friesen appears far more frequently in Kansas than in any other state.
Ranked #650 in Kansas versus #3000 nationally. That is 2350 spots higher here.
A German variant of Hilbert, meaning 'bright sword,' concentrated in Harvey and McPherson counties. It arrived with the 1874 Mennonite migration from Russia and remains rare outside the Kansas-Oklahoma corridor.
Ranked #750 in Kansas versus #4500 nationally. That is 3750 spots higher here.
From Old High German 'Rüdiger,' meaning fame and spear, this surname is virtually exclusive to the Mennonite communities of Harvey and Marion counties. It is almost unknown outside the central Kansas Mennonite belt.
Etymology
Kansas Last Name Meanings: Occupational, Patronymic & Habitational
English Occupational Surnames
Kansas's frontier economy — smithing, milling, tailoring, and clerking — ensured occupational surnames dominated from the start. Names like Smith, Miller, and Clark arrived with Anglo-American settlers along the Santa Fe Trail and became fixtures in every eastern Kansas county.
German-Russian Mennonite Surnames
In 1874, thousands of Mennonites fleeing Russian conscription settled in Harvey, Reno, and McPherson counties, introducing Low German surnames virtually unknown elsewhere in America. Their Turkey Red wheat transformed Kansas into the nation's breadbasket.
Hispanic Surnames
Southwest Kansas attracted Mexican and Central American workers after IBP opened its Garden City beef-processing plant in 1980. Garcia, Martinez, and related names are now among the most common surnames in Finney and Seward counties.
Quick Answers
What are the most common last names in Kansas?
What surnames reflect Kansas's Mennonite heritage?
Why are Garcia and Martinez so common in southwest Kansas?
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau — Frequently Occurring Surnames — 2010 Census surname frequency data — primary source for all counts, ratios, and rankings
- Mennonite Library and Archives, Bethel College — Archives documenting German-Russian Mennonite settlement in Harvey and surrounding counties, including surname records from the 1874 migration
- #1 Surname
- Smith
- People named #1
- 27,100
- 1 in every
- 105 residents
- Top origin
- English
- State population
- 2,853,118
- Census year
- 2010
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Top 20 most common surnames per state - with origins, meanings, and heritage context. Is yours on the list?
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