Most Common Last Names in Oregon

Top 3 — Oregon

#2 scandinavian

Johnson

Patronymic

27,264 people

1 in every 155 Oregon residents

Son of John, often carried in Oregon through Scandinavian forms such as Johansson and Jonsson that were simplified in American records. Its high rank reflects both early Anglo settlement and the strong Nordic presence in Portland and the coast from the late nineteenth century onward.

#1 english

Smith

Occupational

32,907 people

1 in every 129 Oregon residents

From Old English 'smiþ', a metalworker or blacksmith. Smith reached Oregon with trail-era settlers and stayed common as the Donation Land Law filled the Willamette Valley with farm, mill, and town families after 1850.

#3 english

Brown

Descriptive

19,997 people

1 in every 212 Oregon residents

From Old English 'brun', originally a nickname for brown hair, complexion, or clothing. Brown is one of Oregon's broad pioneer surnames, common in the Willamette Valley and later just as at home in timber, railroad, and urban communities.

Name origins â€” top 20 surnames

Name origins - top 20 surnames

Name origins — top 20 surnames

Heritage

Trail Claims, Salmon Ports, and Valley Fields

Oregon's surname map begins with the Oregon Trail and the Donation Land Law of 1850, which drew white settlers into the Willamette, Umpqua, and Rogue valleys and fixed an Anglo-American core led by Smith, Johnson, Brown, and Miller. From the 1880s into the early twentieth century, Swedes and other Scandinavians settled Portland, Astoria, Coos Bay, and Columbia County towns such as Warren and Mayger, helping lift Anderson, Nelson, Peterson, Jensen, and Olsen higher than in many states. Astoria's salmon industry made that coastal layer especially visible; in 1896, Finnish and Scandinavian fishermen there built the Union Fishermen's Cooperative Packing Company after a strike. A later Mexican and Mexican American labor stream, centered in Hood River, Woodburn, and the broader Willamette Valley, pushed Garcia, Martinez, Lopez, Hernandez, and Rodriguez into Oregon's upper surname ranks by 2010.

Did you know? Applegate, the surname of the family behind the Applegate Trail of 1846, still ranks inside Oregon's top 200 and remains unusually visible in southern Oregon place names as well as in the state's surname list.

Top 20 Most Common Last Names in Oregon

Showing all 20 surnames

Tap a name to expand meaning

Smith english

32,907

1 in 129

Johnson scandinavian

27,264

1 in 155

Brown english

19,997

1 in 212

Miller english

19,110

1 in 221

An occupational surname for a grain miller. Oregon's early farming valleys depended on sawmills and gristmills, so Miller fits both the pioneer economy of places such as Oregon City and the later farm belt of the interior valleys.

Anderson scandinavian

17,763

1 in 238

Son of Anders or Andrew. Anderson ranks especially high in Oregon because Scandinavian immigrants settled Portland, Astoria, Coos Bay, and lower Columbia communities in large numbers between the 1880s and the early 1900s.

Jones welsh

16,744

1 in 253

A Welsh patronymic meaning son of John. Jones came west with migrants from the Ohio and Mississippi valleys, the same overland stream that fed the Great Migration to Oregon in the 1840s.

Williams welsh

16,099

1 in 263

Son of William, from the Germanic personal name Willahelm. In Oregon, Williams belongs to the durable British surname layer planted by settlers who claimed land west of the Cascades and later spread into towns and logging districts.

Davis welsh

15,659

1 in 270

Son of David, from the Hebrew name Dawid, meaning beloved. Davis followed the same pioneer routes into Oregon and remained common because it fit both valley farm country and twentieth-century urban growth.

Wilson scottish

12,551

1 in 337

Son of Will, a short form of William. Wilson appears across Oregon's older settlement belt, from the lower Columbia and Portland to inland counties shaped by farming, timber, and rail connections.

#10

Thompson english

10,451

1 in 405

Son of Thomas, with the inserted 'p' becoming standard in late medieval spelling. Thompson's Oregon rank reflects broad Anglo-American migration rather than one enclave, which is why it appears in both old valley settlements and newer metro counties.

#11

Nelson scandinavian

10,280

1 in 411

Son of Nels or Nils. Nelson sits unusually high in Oregon because Scandinavian settlement was unusually strong on the coast and in Portland, where Nordic churches, businesses, and fishing families stayed visible well into the twentieth century.

#12

Taylor english

10,153

1 in 417

From Old French 'tailleur', a cutter of cloth. Taylor is one of the trade surnames that traveled easily from trail camps and courthouse towns into Oregon's later suburbs and cities.

#13

Martin french

10,033

1 in 422

From Latin 'Martinus', associated with Mars. In Oregon, Martin belongs to several streams at once, including older Anglo-American settlement, French Catholic roots in the Pacific Northwest, and later Latino migration.

#14

Clark english

9,853

1 in 429

From clerk, originally a literate or clerical worker. Clark fits Oregon's early administrative geography, where land offices, ports, and county seats expanded quickly after U.S. control and organized settlement.

#15

Moore english

9,488

1 in 446

A place-based surname for someone who lived near a moor or open ground, from Old English 'mor'. In Oregon it is another broad settler surname, found across the Willamette Valley and later inland ranching and timber communities.

#16

White english

9,485

1 in 446

From Old English 'hwit', usually a nickname for light hair or complexion. White remained common in Oregon because it was carried by multiple migration streams, from overland pioneers to later workers in mills, shipyards, and farms.

#17

Lee english

9,285

1 in 456

In English, Lee comes from Old English 'leah', a clearing or meadow, but in Oregon it also overlaps with Chinese and Korean surname traditions. That mixed origin helps explain why Lee ranks high in a state where Portland and the Willamette Valley added Asian communities long after the pioneer era.

#18

Thomas welsh

8,068

1 in 524

From the Aramaic word for twin, carried into English and Welsh naming traditions. Thomas is typical of the older British surname pool that entered Oregon through overland settlement and never disappeared from the statewide top tier.

#19

Peterson scandinavian

7,988

1 in 530

Son of Peter, often anglicized from Petersen. Peterson's Oregon rank is a strong clue to the state's Nordic history, especially in coastal fishing towns and Portland-area Scandinavian neighborhoods.

#20

Baker english

7,857

1 in 538

An occupational surname for a maker of bread, from Old English 'baecere'. Baker fits a state whose first enduring Euro-American settlements were practical farm and market communities, not old colonial cities.

Local Insight

Uniquely Oregon

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

Applegate english

Ranked #192 in Oregon versus #1594 nationally. That is 1402 spots higher here.

Applegate is an English habitational surname, usually explained as someone who lived near an apple orchard or gateway. In Oregon it stays unusually visible because Jesse Applegate helped open the Applegate Trail in 1846, and the family name still marks the Applegate Valley, Applegate River, and pioneer memory of southern Oregon.

Jensen scandinavian

Ranked #56 in Oregon versus #229 nationally. That is 173 spots higher here.

Jensen means son of Jens, the Danish form of John. Its Oregon rank is much higher than nationally because Scandinavian settlers clustered in Portland, Astoria, and lower Columbia communities after rail links, coastal industry, and new farmland drew them west in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Christensen scandinavian

Ranked #104 in Oregon versus #372 nationally. That is 268 spots higher here.

Christensen means son of Christen or Christian. Oregon's unusually high rank reflects the same Nordic settlement belt that stretched from Portland neighborhoods to Columbia County and the coast, where Scandinavian churches, fishing crews, and lumber communities kept the name locally durable.

Olsen scandinavian

Ranked #157 in Oregon versus #497 nationally. That is 340 spots higher here.

Olsen means son of Ole or Olav. Oregon ranks it far above the national norm because Astoria's salmon economy and Portland's Scandinavian enclaves gave Norwegian and Danish surnames a stronger foothold here than in most Western states.

Nguyen vietnamese

Ranked #21 in Oregon versus #53 nationally. That is 32 spots higher here.

Nguyen is the most common Vietnamese surname and carries a modern Oregon story rather than a trail-era one. Refugees began settling in Oregon after 1975, and the Portland area became one of the state's main Vietnamese centers, helping push Nguyen to the edge of the top 20 by 2010.

Etymology

Oregon Last Name Meanings: Occupational, Patronymic & Habitational

Occupational Names

Five of Oregon's top 20 are classic work names: Smith, Miller, Taylor, Clark, and Baker. That is a good fit for a state built by farm valleys, mill towns, ports, and practical frontier trades rather than by an older colonial elite.

Smith (metalworker) Miller (grain miller) Taylor (tailor) Clark (clerical worker) Baker (bread maker)

Patronymic Names

Eleven of Oregon's top 20 are patronymics, including Johnson, Anderson, Jones, Williams, Davis, Wilson, Thompson, Nelson, Martin, Thomas, and Peterson. The category dominates because Oregon inherited a large British surname base from overland settlers and then added a strong Scandinavian layer that kept son-names unusually high.

Johnson (son of John) Anderson (son of Anders) Williams (son of William) Nelson (son of Nels) Peterson (son of Peter)

Descriptive or Place-Based Names

Brown, Moore, White, and Lee show Oregon's less specialized side, with broad surnames that could travel almost anywhere in the English-speaking world. Lee is the most revealing here, because in Oregon it can point either to an old English place-name surname or to later Chinese and Korean family lines in the Portland metro.

Brown (brown hair or complexion) Moore (near a moor) White (fair hair or complexion) Lee (clearing or meadow)

Quick Answers

What is the most common last name in Oregon?

Smith is the most common last name in Oregon in this dataset, followed by Johnson and Brown. The ranking reflects Oregon's large Anglo-American pioneer base, even though Scandinavian and Latino surnames are more visible here than in many other Western states.

Why are Scandinavian last names so common in Oregon?

They are so common because Oregon drew large numbers of Swedish and other Scandinavian immigrants between the late 1800s and early 1900s. Portland, Astoria, Coos Bay, and lower Columbia communities gave surnames such as Anderson, Nelson, Peterson, Jensen, and Olsen a stronger foothold than they have in most states.

Why are Hispanic surnames like Garcia and Martinez common in Oregon?

Mexican and Mexican American workers had been present in Oregon since the early twentieth century, and wartime labor programs brought many more between 1942 and 1947. Long-settled farmworker communities in places such as Hood River, Woodburn, and other Willamette Valley towns helped lift Garcia, Martinez, Lopez, Hernandez, and Rodriguez into the state's upper surname ranks.

Sources

Forebears - Most Common Surnames in Oregon — Primary source for statewide surname rankings, counts, frequency ratios, and national rank comparisons
Oregon Encyclopedia - Oregon Donation Land Law — Background on the 1850 land law that accelerated white settlement in the Willamette, Umpqua, and Rogue valleys
Oregon Encyclopedia - Swedes in Oregon — History of Swedish settlement in Portland, Astoria, Columbia County, and other Oregon communities from 1850 to 1940
Oregon Encyclopedia - Latinos in Oregon — History of Mexican and Mexican American migration into Oregon agriculture, railroads, and later permanent communities
Oregon History Project - Farming and Fishing — Source on Astoria's salmon industry and the 1896 strike that led Finnish and Scandinavian fishermen to form a cooperative

Information is cross-referenced with official state archives.

#1 Surname: Smith
People named #1: 32,907
1 in every: 129 residents
Top origin: English
State population: 3,831,074
Census year: 2010

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Most Common Last Names in Oregon

Trail Claims, Salmon Ports, and Valley Fields

Top 20 Most Common Last Names in Oregon

Uniquely Oregon