Genealogy & Demographics South Carolina 2010 Census Top 20 Surnames

Most Common Last Names in South Carolina

South Carolina state flag

South Carolina

Top 20 Most Common Surnames - 2010 Census

Top 3 — South Carolina

#2 english
Williams
Patronymic
49,152 people
1 in every 101 South Carolina residents

Son of William, from Norman 'Willahelm', will plus helm. Williams ranks second in South Carolina because it was common among English settlers and became one of the most widely adopted surnames by freed families after emancipation.

#1 english
Smith
Occupational
64,997 people
1 in every 76 South Carolina residents

From Old English 'smið', a metalworker. Smith ranks first because it crossed every South Carolina boundary: English colonial Charleston, Upcountry farms, African American communities after 1865, and later mill towns all carried the name.

#3 english
Brown
Descriptive
47,414 people
1 in every 104 South Carolina residents

From Old English 'brún', meaning brown hair, complexion, or clothing. Brown ranks ahead of Johnson in South Carolina, a signal of the surname's strength in African American families across the Lowcountry and the inland cotton belt.

Name origins — top 20 surnames

Name origins - top 20 surnames

Name origins — top 20 surnames

Heritage

Lowcountry Freedmen, Huguenot Charleston, and Upcountry Settlers

South Carolina's surname profile begins on the coast, where English colonists founded Charles Town in 1670 and built a rice economy that depended on enslaved Africans from the West African rice coast. After emancipation in 1865, freed families across Beaufort, Charleston, Georgetown, Orangeburg, and the Sea Islands fixed legal surnames that still make Williams, Brown, Green, Jackson, Robinson, and Washington unusually visible statewide. The Upcountry added a second stream as Scots-Irish and German-speaking families moved down the Great Wagon Road into the Piedmont during the 1700s, leaving names such as Miller, Wilson, Anderson, and Thompson in the same top 20.

Did you know? Shealy is one of South Carolina's most concentrated surnames: more than half of Americans with the name are counted in the state, a marker of the German-Swiss communities that settled the Dutch Fork between the Broad and Saluda rivers in the colonial period.

Top 20 Most Common Last Names in South Carolina

Showing all 20 surnames

#1
Smith english
64,997
1 in 76
From Old English 'smið', a metalworker. Smith ranks first because it crossed every South Carolina boundary: English colonial Charleston, Upcountry farms, African American communities after 1865, and later mill towns all carried the name.
#2
Williams english
49,152
1 in 101
Son of William, from Norman 'Willahelm', will plus helm. Williams ranks second in South Carolina because it was common among English settlers and became one of the most widely adopted surnames by freed families after emancipation.
#3
Brown english
47,414
1 in 104
From Old English 'brún', meaning brown hair, complexion, or clothing. Brown ranks ahead of Johnson in South Carolina, a signal of the surname's strength in African American families across the Lowcountry and the inland cotton belt.
#4
Johnson english
43,864
1 in 113
Son of John, from Hebrew 'Yohanan' (God is gracious). Johnson appears throughout the state, but its strongest cultural weight comes from post-emancipation naming in counties where plantation agriculture had shaped family life for generations.
#5
Davis english
35,891
1 in 138
Son of David, from Hebrew 'Dawid' (beloved). Davis sits unusually high in South Carolina because Welsh and English settlers brought it early, and freed families later reinforced it across Orangeburg, Sumter, and the Pee Dee.
#6
Jones welsh
33,594
1 in 147
A Welsh form meaning son of John, from 'Ioan'. Jones entered South Carolina through British colonial settlement and expanded inland with farming families who moved from the coast into the Piedmont.
#7
Wilson english
22,762
1 in 217
Son of Will, a shortened form of William. Wilson is one of the clearer Upcountry names in the top 20, carried by Scots-Irish families who settled the Piedmont and foothills during the eighteenth century.
#8
Jackson english
20,600
1 in 240
Son of Jack, a medieval diminutive of John. Jackson ranks higher in South Carolina than it does nationally, reflecting its adoption by many African American families after 1865 and its durability in Lowcountry and Midlands counties.
#9
Miller english
19,289
1 in 256
From Middle English 'miller', a grain grinder. Miller has both English and German roots in South Carolina, especially in the Dutch Fork and Piedmont communities where grain mills anchored rural settlement.
#10
Taylor english
18,641
1 in 265
From Old French 'tailleur', one who cuts cloth. Taylor spread early through English colonial families and later through African American communities that chose familiar occupational surnames after emancipation.
#11
Robinson english
18,215
1 in 271
Son of Robin, a medieval form of Robert. Robinson is especially prominent in South Carolina's African American surname pattern, where it stands far above its national ranking and appears strongly in the Lowcountry and Midlands.
#12
Thompson english
17,341
1 in 285
Son of Thom, a short form of Thomas. Thompson came with English and Scots-Irish settlers into the Upcountry and also appears in Lowcountry freedmen's records after the Civil War.
#13
Anderson scottish
16,880
1 in 293
Son of Andrew, from Greek 'Andreas' (manly). Anderson followed the Scots-Irish route from Ulster into the Carolina Piedmont, making it one of the state's clearest Upcountry patronymics.
#14
White english
16,654
1 in 297
From Old English 'hwīt', meaning white hair or pale complexion. White appears in both coastal and inland records, but in South Carolina it also became a common legal surname among freed families after 1865.
#15
Thomas english
16,342
1 in 302
From Aramaic 'Toma', meaning twin. Thomas is common in South Carolina through Welsh and English settlement, then reinforced by African American families in the rice coast, the Pee Dee, and the Midlands.
#16
Green english
15,622
1 in 316
From Middle English 'grene', someone who lived near a village green or was associated with the color green. Green ranks much higher in South Carolina than nationally, a pattern tied to African American families in Lowcountry and Black Belt counties.
#17
Wright english
14,128
1 in 350
From Old English 'wyrhta', a craftsman who worked with wood. Wright entered the colony with English-speaking settlers and remained common in inland farming districts where carpenters, wheelwrights, and builders were essential trades.
#18
Scott scottish
13,548
1 in 365
Originally a name for a Scot or Gaelic speaker. Scott reflects the stream of Scots and Scots-Irish migrants who moved into South Carolina's interior before the Revolution and later spread through the Piedmont.
#19
Lee english
13,437
1 in 368
From Old English 'leah', a clearing or meadow. Lee is broad enough to include English, African American, and Asian American bearers, but in South Carolina its deep presence comes mainly from colonial and post-emancipation naming.
#20
Harris english
13,375
1 in 369
Son of Harry, a medieval form of Henry. Harris appears in early South Carolina records and remains common across Charleston, the Midlands, and the Upcountry, giving it one of the widest regional spreads in the top 20.

Local Insight

Uniquely South Carolina

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

South Carolina Encyclopedia english

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

#1 Surname
Smith
People named #1
64,997
1 in every
76 residents
Top origin
English
State population
4,625,364
Census year
2010

Related States

Kentucky state flag
Kentucky
Georgia state flag
Georgia
Delaware state flag
Delaware
Tennessee state flag
Tennessee
West Virginia state flag
West Virginia
View all states
Explore More
Data
State Rankings

Compare all 50 states by population, land area, statehood date, and more.

View Rankings
Curated
Collections

Themed lists - states sharing the same bird, oldest symbols, flags with bears, and more.

Browse Collections
Compare
Compare States

Side-by-side comparison of population, area, income, taxes, climate, and more.

Compare Now
Genealogy
Last Names by State

Top 20 most common surnames per state - with origins, meanings, and heritage context. Is yours on the list?

Explore Last Names

You Might Also Like