Genealogy & Demographics Kansas 2010 Census Top 20 Surnames

Most Common Last Names in Kansas

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Kansas

Top 20 Most Common Surnames - 2010 Census

Top 3 — Kansas

#2 english
Johnson
Patronymic
23,100 people
1 in every 124 Kansas residents

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.

#1 english
Smith
Occupational
27,100 people
1 in every 105 Kansas residents

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.

#3 welsh
Williams
Patronymic
20,000 people
1 in every 143 Kansas residents

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 surnames

Name 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
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.
#2
Johnson english
23,100
1 in 124
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.
#3
Williams welsh
20,000
1 in 143
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.
#4
Brown english
18,300
1 in 156
Descriptive name for someone with dark hair or complexion, from Old English 'brūn.' It spread across eastern Kansas during the Bleeding Kansas conflicts of the 1850s.
#5
Jones welsh
16,300
1 in 175
Patronymic meaning 'son of John,' from Welsh and English tradition. Common in the farming communities of the Flint Hills and eastern Kansas river valleys.
#6
Davis welsh
14,000
1 in 204
Patronymic from Welsh 'ap Dafydd,' meaning 'son of David.' Well established in the Topeka corridor, where Welsh and English settlers arrived along early railroad lines.
#7
Miller english
13,700
1 in 208
Occupational name for a grain miller, from Old English 'mylenweard.' Especially rooted in central Kansas, where wheat farming became the state's defining industry after the 1870s.
#8
Wilson english
12,000
1 in 238
Patronymic meaning 'son of Will,' from English and Scots-Irish origins. Prominent in northeastern Kansas, where Scots-Irish families homesteaded the rolling prairies of the Osage Ceded Lands.
#9
Moore english
10,600
1 in 269
Habitational or descriptive from Old English 'mōr,' meaning marsh or open land. Irish and English settlers bearing this name claimed homesteads across the eastern Kansas prairie.
#10
Taylor english
10,000
1 in 285
Occupational name for a tailor, from Old French 'tailleur.' Found in frontier supply towns across Kansas, from early Leavenworth to the cattle-drive settlements of the 1870s.
#11
Anderson english
9,400
1 in 304
Patronymic meaning 'son of Andrew,' shared by English and Scandinavian traditions. Clustered in Saline County, where Swedish immigrants founded Lindsborg and neighboring farming communities in 1869.
#12
Thomas welsh
8,600
1 in 332
Patronymic from the Aramaic given name meaning 'twin,' spread through Welsh and English migration. Distributed broadly across Kansas's early agricultural townships in the homestead era.
#13
Martin french
8,000
1 in 357
Patronymic from Latin Martinus, meaning 'of Mars,' spread by French and English migration. French Creole and English families settled the northeastern Kansas counties in the 1860s homestead wave.
#14
Jackson english
7,700
1 in 371
Patronymic meaning 'son of Jack,' from English and Scots-Irish origins. Significant among African American families who joined the Exoduster movement to Kansas in the late 1870s.
#15
White english
7,400
1 in 386
Descriptive name for a fair-complexioned or fair-haired person, from Old English 'hwīt.' Spread through frontier Kansas communities from the 1850s territorial era onward.
#16
Harris english
7,100
1 in 402
Patronymic meaning 'son of Harry,' from English and Welsh origins. Common in central and eastern Kansas from railroad-era settlement along the Kansas Pacific corridor.
#17
Thompson english
7,100
1 in 402
Patronymic meaning 'son of Thomas,' from English and Scots origins. Well represented in north-central Kansas, where English settlers established farming communities in the 1870s homestead wave.
#18
Garcia spanish
7,100
1 in 402
Habitational or occupational, from a Basque or Spanish name of uncertain origin. Concentrated in southwest Kansas after the 1980s growth of IBP and Excel meatpacking plants in Garden City.
#19
Martinez spanish
6,300
1 in 453
Spanish patronymic meaning 'son of Martin,' from Latin Martinus. Closely tracks Garcia in Finney and Seward counties, reflecting the same meatpacking-era migration to southwest Kansas.
#20
Clark english
6,000
1 in 476
Occupational name for a clerk or scholar, from Old English 'clerc.' Established in the founding settlements of Lawrence and Leavenworth during the Kansas territorial era of 1854.
#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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