Genealogy & Demographics Massachusetts 2026 Census Top 20 Surnames

Most Common Surnames in Massachusetts

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Massachusetts

Top 20 Most Common Surnames - 2026 Census

Top 3 — Massachusetts

#2 english
Johnson
Patronymic
23,404 people
1 in every 317 Massachusetts residents

Son of John, from the Hebrew name Yohanan, meaning God is gracious. Johnson stays near the top in Massachusetts because it belongs to the older English naming stock of New England and also crossed easily into later Scandinavian and African American populations.

#1 irish
Sullivan
Patronymic
24,964 people
1 in every 297 Massachusetts residents

From Irish "O Suileabhain," usually glossed as descendant of Suileabhan, a personal name associated with dark eyes. It leads Massachusetts because Boston became one of the main destinations for Irish migration during and after the Great Famine, turning an already familiar Irish surname into the state's most common one.

#3 english
Brown
Descriptive
22,700 people
1 in every 327 Massachusetts residents

From Old English "brun," usually referring to brown hair, complexion, or clothing. Brown is one of the durable colonial New England surnames, common long before the 19th-century immigrant waves changed the rest of the Massachusetts list.

Name origins — top 20 surnames

Name origins - top 20 surnames

Name origins — top 20 surnames

Heritage

Irish Boston, Mill Cities, and the Portuguese South Coast

Massachusetts absorbed one of the country's largest Irish inflows during and after the Great Famine; in 1847 alone Boston's Irish-born population jumped by more than 13,000, and by 1855 the city had more than 50,000 Irish residents. Textile cities such as Lowell, Lawrence, and Worcester then layered on French-Canadian and other immigrant surnames during the late 19th century. On the South Coast, whaling and later factory work tied New Bedford and Fall River to the Azores, Madeira, and Cape Verde, which helps explain why Silva ranks in the top 20 and names like Medeiros and Cabral are so visible statewide.

Did you know? Massachusetts is one of the few states where Smith does not make the top 20 at all; seven clearly Irish surnames, including Sullivan, Murphy, McCarthy, Walsh, Kelly, Burke, and Collins, rank ahead of it.

Top 20 Most Common Last Names in Massachusetts

Showing all 20 surnames

#1
Sullivan irish
24,964
1 in 297
From Irish "O Suileabhain," usually glossed as descendant of Suileabhan, a personal name associated with dark eyes. It leads Massachusetts because Boston became one of the main destinations for Irish migration during and after the Great Famine, turning an already familiar Irish surname into the state's most common one.
#2
Johnson english
23,404
1 in 317
Son of John, from the Hebrew name Yohanan, meaning God is gracious. Johnson stays near the top in Massachusetts because it belongs to the older English naming stock of New England and also crossed easily into later Scandinavian and African American populations.
#3
Brown english
22,700
1 in 327
From Old English "brun," usually referring to brown hair, complexion, or clothing. Brown is one of the durable colonial New England surnames, common long before the 19th-century immigrant waves changed the rest of the Massachusetts list.
#4
Murphy irish
20,129
1 in 368
From Irish "O Murchadha," descendant of Murchadh, a personal name often interpreted as sea warrior. Murphy's high rank fits a state where Boston, Charlestown, and later mill cities drew large Irish Catholic communities in the 19th century.
#5
Williams welsh
16,876
1 in 439
Son of William, from the Germanic Willahelm. Williams is common across the United States, and in Massachusetts it sits below the Irish surnames that rose faster in Boston and the industrial cities.
#6
Anderson scandinavian
14,293
1 in 519
Son of Anders or Andrew, from Greek Andreas, meaning manly. Anderson reflects both old Anglo-Scottish settlement and later northern European immigration into Massachusetts factory cities.
#7
White english
14,195
1 in 522
From Old English "hwit," a nickname for someone fair-haired or pale. White is another deep-rooted Massachusetts surname that reaches back to the colony era and stayed common through every later migration wave.
#8
Martin french
13,583
1 in 546
From Latin Martinus, meaning of Mars. In Massachusetts, Martin works as both an old English-family surname and a French-Canadian surname, which helped it travel well in mill communities tied to Quebec migration.
#9
Davis welsh
13,548
1 in 547
Son of David, from Hebrew Dawid, meaning beloved. Davis has the same older New England staying power as Brown and White, even though the state's headline surname story is more Irish than Welsh.
#10
McCarthy irish
13,217
1 in 561
From Irish "Mac Carthaigh," son of Carthach. McCarthy ranks much higher in Massachusetts than nationally because Irish settlement from counties Cork and Kerry fed Boston's neighborhoods and later spread through eastern Massachusetts and the mill belt.
#11
Miller english
12,922
1 in 574
An occupational surname for a miller, from medieval English and Scottish usage. It remains common in Massachusetts, but unlike the Irish names around it, Miller reflects general Anglo-American surname continuity rather than one dominant migration episode.
#12
Jones welsh
12,869
1 in 576
A Welsh form meaning son of John. Jones has been common in southern New England since the colonial period, though in Massachusetts it is pushed downward by the unusual strength of Irish surnames.
#13
Lee english
12,703
1 in 584
Originally a surname for someone who lived near a woodland clearing, from Old English "leah." In Massachusetts, Lee also benefits from later Chinese and Korean immigration, giving one short surname multiple historical tracks into the state's top tier.
#14
Silva portuguese
12,695
1 in 584
From Latin "silva," meaning forest or woodland. Silva's place in the Massachusetts top 20 points straight to the Portuguese and Lusophone South Coast, especially New Bedford and Fall River, where Azorean and Madeiran migration remained dense for generations.
#15
Walsh irish
12,591
1 in 589
From Irish "Breathnach," literally a Welshman or foreigner. Walsh became a standard Irish surname centuries ago, and its Massachusetts rank reflects how heavily Irish family networks shaped Boston and surrounding cities.
#16
Clark english
10,873
1 in 682
From Latin "clericus," meaning clerk or scholar. Clark fits Massachusetts especially well because the name belongs to old English settlement and to a state long defined by churches, schools, and record-keeping towns.
#17
Rodriguez spanish
10,622
1 in 698
Son of Rodrigo, from a Germanic personal name meaning famous ruler. Rodriguez entered Massachusetts' top 20 through later Hispanic migration, especially in Greater Boston and older industrial cities.
#18
Kelly irish
10,385
1 in 714
Usually from Irish "O Ceallaigh," descendant of Ceallach. Kelly is common across Irish America, but in Massachusetts it ranks especially high because the state kept one of the country's densest and most politically influential Irish populations.
#19
Burke irish
10,055
1 in 737
Originally from the Norman de Burgh family name, later fully absorbed into Irish naming. Burke's strong Massachusetts showing reflects the same Irish settlement pattern that elevated Sullivan, Murphy, McCarthy, and Kelly.
#20
Collins irish
9,936
1 in 746
Often from Irish "O Coileain," descendant of Coilean, though Collins also exists in English usage. In Massachusetts, the name reads mainly as part of the state's broad Irish surname layer rather than its colonial English one.
#1 Surname
Sullivan
People named #1
24,964
1 in every
297 residents
Top origin
Irish
State population
6,547,629
Census year
2026

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