Genealogy & Demographics Texas 2010 Census Top 20 Surnames

Most Common Last Names in Texas

Texas state flag

Texas

Top 20 Most Common Surnames - 2010 Census

Top 3 — Texas

#2 spanish
Garcia
Patronymic
240,333 people
1 in every 121 Texas residents

A Spanish surname often traced to a medieval personal name of Basque origin. Garcia ranks almost even with Smith in Texas because the name belongs both to old Tejano families and to later Mexican American communities across San Antonio, Houston, Dallas, El Paso, and the Rio Grande Valley.

#1 english
Smith
Occupational
240,599 people
1 in every 121 Texas residents

From Old English 'smið', a metalworker or blacksmith. In Texas, Smith became the top surname because it arrived through many routes at once: southern farm migration, frontier settlement, military service, urban growth, and Black communities formed before and after emancipation.

#3 spanish
Rodriguez
Patronymic
210,765 people
1 in every 138 Texas residents

Son of Rodrigo, from a Germanic name meaning famous ruler. Rodriguez is one of the clearest signs of Texas's Spanish-language surname layer, with strong roots in border counties and broad reach in the state's largest metro areas.

Name origins — top 20 surnames

Name origins - top 20 surnames

Name origins — top 20 surnames

Heritage

Anglo Texas, Tejano Texas, and Borderland Family Names

Texas surnames preserve a borderland history older than statehood. Spanish colonial settlement in San Antonio, Nacogdoches, and the lower Rio Grande left Garcia, Rodriguez, Hernandez, Gonzalez, Lopez, Garza, and Perez high in the statewide list. Anglo-American migration from the South and Midwest added Smith, Johnson, Williams, Jones, Brown, Miller, Moore, Wilson, Taylor, and Thomas, while later urban growth in Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, and Austin kept both traditions visible in the same ranking.

Did you know? Garza is the most distinctively Texas surname in the state's top 20: more than seven in ten U.S. bearers in this dataset live in Texas, a pattern tied especially to South Texas and the Rio Grande Valley.

Top 20 Most Common Last Names in Texas

Showing all 20 surnames

#1
Smith english
240,599
1 in 121
From Old English 'smið', a metalworker or blacksmith. In Texas, Smith became the top surname because it arrived through many routes at once: southern farm migration, frontier settlement, military service, urban growth, and Black communities formed before and after emancipation.
#2
Garcia spanish
240,333
1 in 121
A Spanish surname often traced to a medieval personal name of Basque origin. Garcia ranks almost even with Smith in Texas because the name belongs both to old Tejano families and to later Mexican American communities across San Antonio, Houston, Dallas, El Paso, and the Rio Grande Valley.
#3
Rodriguez spanish
210,765
1 in 138
Son of Rodrigo, from a Germanic name meaning famous ruler. Rodriguez is one of the clearest signs of Texas's Spanish-language surname layer, with strong roots in border counties and broad reach in the state's largest metro areas.
#4
Johnson english
189,647
1 in 153
Son of John, from Hebrew 'Yohanan', meaning God is gracious. Johnson spread through Texas with settlers from the Upper South and with Black families whose surnames became fixed in records after emancipation in 1865.
#5
Williams english
186,936
1 in 155
Son of William, from the Germanic name Willahelm. Williams is common across East Texas and the Blackland Prairie because it traveled with southern migrants and became deeply rooted in Black Texan communities after the Civil War.
#6
Hernandez spanish
182,233
1 in 159
Son of Hernando or Fernando, from a Germanic name meaning bold traveler or brave in peace. Hernandez ranks high in Texas because it is common across Mexico and long established in Texas cities and border communities.
#7
Jones welsh
159,612
1 in 182
A Welsh form meaning son of John. Jones moved into Texas with Anglo-American families from Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana, Georgia, and Alabama, making it one of the strongest Southern surnames in the state.
#8
Brown english
146,334
1 in 198
From Old English 'brun', describing brown hair, clothing, or complexion. Brown is common statewide because it belongs to both older English naming traditions and Black family histories across East Texas, Houston, Dallas, and the coastal plain.
#9
Gonzalez spanish
145,970
1 in 199
Son of Gonzalo, from a Germanic personal name often linked with battle. Gonzalez reflects the same Spanish-language naming system that lifted Garcia, Rodriguez, and Hernandez into Texas's top tier.
#10
Lopez spanish
136,209
1 in 213
Son of Lope, from Latin 'lupus', meaning wolf. Lopez is a major Texas surname because it connects colonial Spanish naming, Mexican migration, and the modern growth of Latino communities in nearly every large Texas county.
#11
Garza spanish
121,317
1 in 239
Spanish for heron. Garza is unusually Texan for a top surname, concentrated in South Texas and the Rio Grande Valley where old ranching families and cross-border kin networks kept the name highly localized.
#12
Perez spanish
115,484
1 in 251
Son of Pedro, the Spanish form of Peter, from Greek 'petros', meaning rock. Perez is common across Texas because it is one of the major Spanish patronymics shared by Mexican, Tejano, Caribbean, and Central American communities.
#13
Ramirez spanish
106,795
1 in 272
Son of Ramiro, from a Germanic name often interpreted as famous counsel. Ramirez is especially visible in Texas because it is widespread in northern Mexico and followed long-standing migration routes into the state's border and urban counties.
#14
Jackson english
91,333
1 in 318
Son of Jack, a medieval diminutive of John. Jackson entered Texas through Southern migration and also became common in Black communities after emancipation, giving it a wide footprint from East Texas to the major cities.
#15
Miller english
89,868
1 in 323
An occupational surname for someone who operated a grain mill. In Texas, Miller combines broad English use with German immigrant lines, especially in the Hill Country and central Texas settlements founded in the 1840s.
#16
Moore english
89,054
1 in 326
From Old English 'mor', a moor, marsh, or open uncultivated ground. Moore arrived with Anglo-American settlers and remained common because it spread across rural counties, port cities, oil towns, and suburbs rather than belonging to one narrow region.
#17
Wilson english
87,568
1 in 331
Son of Will, a short form of William. Wilson is part of the Scots-Irish and English surname stock that came into Texas through the same southern migration streams that carried Johnson, Jones, Williams, and Brown.
#18
Taylor english
87,224
1 in 333
From Old French 'tailleur', a cutter of cloth. Taylor is common in Texas because English occupational surnames traveled easily with frontier families, town merchants, soldiers, and later arrivals to the state's growing cities.
#19
Thomas english
81,329
1 in 357
From the Aramaic name 'Toma', meaning twin. Thomas belongs to the older British surname base of Texas and appears across both white and Black family histories, especially in counties shaped by Southern migration.
#20
Gonzales spanish
80,882
1 in 359
A spelling variant of Gonzalez, meaning son of Gonzalo. Gonzales ranks separately in the data, which shows how spelling choices can split a single Spanish surname tradition into two high-ranking Texas entries.

Local Insight

Uniquely Texas

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

Texas State Historical Association: Handbook of Texas english

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

#1 Surname
Smith
People named #1
240,599
1 in every
121 residents
Top origin
English
State population
25,145,561
Census year
2010

Related States

Delaware state flag
Delaware
North Carolina state flag
North Carolina
Virginia state flag
Virginia
West Virginia state flag
West Virginia
Florida state flag
Florida
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