Genealogy & Demographics Maine 2026 Census Top 20 Surnames

Most Common Last Names in Maine

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Maine

Top 20 Most Common Surnames - 2026 Census

Top 3 — Maine

#2 english
Brown
Descriptive
7,567 people
1 in every 180 Maine residents

From Old English 'brun', referring to brown hair, complexion, or clothing. Brown ranks second in Maine, higher than Johnson and Williams, which gives the state a more colonial New England surname profile than the national top five.

#1 english
Smith
Occupational
10,822 people
1 in every 126 Maine residents

From Old English 'smith' or 'smid', a metalworker. Smith leads both Maine and the United States, but in Maine it fits the older English coastal settlement pattern rather than the post-emancipation surname story seen across much of the South.

#3 english
Johnson
Patronymic
5,146 people
1 in every 264 Maine residents

Son of John, from the Hebrew name Yohanan, meaning God is gracious. Johnson is common across Maine, but it ranks below Brown here, a clue that Maine's top tier is shaped more by English and northern European settlement than by the broader national order.

Name origins — top 20 surnames

Name origins - top 20 surnames

Name origins — top 20 surnames

Heritage

Yankee Coast, French Border, and Mill-Town Migration

Maine was part of Massachusetts until statehood in 1820, so many older English surnames trace through coastal towns, shipbuilding ports, and inland farm settlements tied to southern New England. The Canadian boundary, fixed in 1842, gave northern Maine a lasting French and Acadian name layer in the St. John Valley and Madawaska country. Lewiston, Biddeford, Waterville, and other mill towns then drew French-Canadian families in large numbers from the 1870s into the early 1900s.

Did you know? Libby ranks 14th in Maine but far lower nationally because the American Libby family traces its organized genealogy to John Libby, an English immigrant who came to New England around 1636 and whose descendants still hold reunions near his Scarborough homestead.

Top 20 Most Common Last Names in Maine

Showing all 20 surnames

#1
Smith english
10,822
1 in 126
From Old English 'smith' or 'smid', a metalworker. Smith leads both Maine and the United States, but in Maine it fits the older English coastal settlement pattern rather than the post-emancipation surname story seen across much of the South.
#2
Brown english
7,567
1 in 180
From Old English 'brun', referring to brown hair, complexion, or clothing. Brown ranks second in Maine, higher than Johnson and Williams, which gives the state a more colonial New England surname profile than the national top five.
#3
Johnson english
5,146
1 in 264
Son of John, from the Hebrew name Yohanan, meaning God is gracious. Johnson is common across Maine, but it ranks below Brown here, a clue that Maine's top tier is shaped more by English and northern European settlement than by the broader national order.
#4
Davis welsh
5,049
1 in 269
Son of David, from Hebrew 'Dawid', meaning beloved. Davis came into Maine through English and Welsh naming traditions already established in colonial New England before Maine separated from Massachusetts in 1820.
#5
Clark english
4,018
1 in 338
From Latin 'clericus', a clerk, scholar, or churchman. Clark's high rank suits a state whose early English towns kept dense town, church, probate, and maritime records from the colonial period onward.
#6
Martin french
3,922
1 in 347
From Latin 'Martinus', meaning of Mars, and popular in both English and French naming traditions. In Maine, Martin works as a bridge surname: it appears among older English-speaking families and among French-Canadian families connected to Quebec and northern New England mill towns.
#7
White english
3,765
1 in 361
From Old English 'hwit', usually a nickname for fair hair or pale complexion. White belongs to Maine's older English surname layer, the same layer visible in coastal towns that were settled before Maine became a separate state.
#8
Williams welsh
3,670
1 in 370
Son of William, from the Germanic Willahelm, often interpreted as will and helmet or protection. Williams ranks only eighth in Maine, far below its national rank, because Maine's French-Canadian and colonial New England names push several different surnames upward.
#9
Pelletier french
3,383
1 in 402
A French occupational name for a furrier or fur trader, from Old French 'pelletier'. Pelletier reaches Maine's top 10 because French-Canadian and Acadian families remained concentrated in the St. John Valley, Lewiston-Auburn, and other mill communities tied to Quebec migration.
#10
Allen english
3,356
1 in 405
From the given name Alan, probably Celtic in origin and often glossed as little rock or handsome. Allen appears widely in Maine's English-speaking counties and reflects the same New England family networks that connected Maine to Massachusetts before statehood.
#11
Jones welsh
3,282
1 in 414
A Welsh form meaning son of John, from the given name Ioan. Jones is nationally a top-five surname, but in Maine it falls just outside the top 10 because Brown, Clark, Martin, Pelletier, and Allen all rank ahead of it.
#12
Michaud french
3,276
1 in 415
A French surname from Michel, the French form of Michael, meaning who is like God. Michaud is one of Maine's clearest French-Canadian signatures, listed among the pioneer family names of the Madawaska Territory and still common in Aroostook County families.
#13
Anderson scottish
3,179
1 in 428
Son of Andrew or Anders, from Greek 'Andreas', meaning manly. Anderson fits Maine's Scots-Irish and Scottish layer, especially in inland communities settled through New England, Nova Scotia, and Ulster migration routes.
#14
Libby english
3,119
1 in 436
A likely English diminutive of Elizabeth or a related medieval personal name that became a family surname. In Maine, Libby is not generic: it is tied to descendants of John Libby, who came from England around 1636 and whose family identity remains anchored near Scarborough.
#15
Hall english
3,055
1 in 445
From Old English 'heall', describing someone who lived or worked at a hall or manor house. Hall is part of Maine's older English surname stock and remains common across the same broad New England corridor as Brown, Clark, and Allen.
#16
Thompson english
3,022
1 in 450
Son of Thom, a short form of Thomas, with the inserted 'p' fixed by medieval spelling habits. Thompson appears in Lewiston's early civic records and in older English-speaking settlement zones before the French-Canadian mill-town surge.
#17
Young english
2,885
1 in 471
From Old English 'geong', used to distinguish a younger bearer from an older relative with the same given name. Young fits Maine's rural and coastal English surname pattern, where repeated family names often needed age-based nicknames.
#18
Ouellette french
2,834
1 in 480
An American and Canadian French form of Ouellet, with the final consonant sounded in local usage. Ouellette is one of the French names that makes Maine's top 20 look closer to Quebec and New Brunswick than to most of the United States.
#19
Stevens english
2,824
1 in 481
Son of Stephen, from Greek 'Stephanos', meaning crown or wreath. Stevens is common in New England records, where biblical given names such as Stephen, John, and David generated many early family surnames.
#20
Roy french
2,777
1 in 489
From Old French 'roy' or modern French 'roi', meaning king, often used as a nickname rather than a claim of royal descent. Roy's place in Maine's top 20 reflects the same French-Canadian migration that elevated Pelletier, Michaud, and Ouellette.

Local Insight

Uniquely Maine

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

Forebears - Most Common Surnames in Maine english

Ranked #0 in Maine and not reliably ranked nationally in this dataset.

U.S. Census Bureau - Maine 2010 Geographic Guide english

Ranked #0 in Maine and not reliably ranked nationally in this dataset.

Franco Center - Immigration to Lewiston Experience english

Ranked #0 in Maine and not reliably ranked nationally in this dataset.

Maine Acadian Heritage Council - Pioneer Families of the Madawaska Territory english

Ranked #0 in Maine and not reliably ranked nationally in this dataset.

#1 Surname
Smith
People named #1
10,822
1 in every
126 residents
Top origin
English
State population
1,328,361
Census year
2026

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