Surnames!
Here's something cool to peruse during work:
The 100 most common surnames in the U.S.
You can really glean a lot about America's demographic makeup. The first 17 names are all ancient English surnames and scattered Scotch, Scotch-Irish, and Irish. 400 years (!) since John Smith screwed Pohcahontas at Jamestown, and the most common last name in America remains Smith. The Founding Fathers and other big-time Americans' bloodlines are also well represented. Washington, Jackson, Adams, and Lee all pop up.
And other than the news that colonials names still rule the roost, it's worth pointing out that the only other ethnicity to really show up in force are Spanish-language surnames.
The 100 most common surnames in the U.S.
You can really glean a lot about America's demographic makeup. The first 17 names are all ancient English surnames and scattered Scotch, Scotch-Irish, and Irish. 400 years (!) since John Smith screwed Pohcahontas at Jamestown, and the most common last name in America remains Smith. The Founding Fathers and other big-time Americans' bloodlines are also well represented. Washington, Jackson, Adams, and Lee all pop up.
And other than the news that colonials names still rule the roost, it's worth pointing out that the only other ethnicity to really show up in force are Spanish-language surnames.
4 Comments:
Alex, you need to take a look at numbers 90 and 91. Serendipity ensues.
Also, regarding the ethnic names, I think it's worth noting that most black families in this country took on common European names. So they are certainly represented on the list, they just don't stand out.
My ignorance has blinded me. I completely forgot about African-Americans. Well, this list makes a little more sense then. After all, other than Smith and Friends, black people have the longest settlement history in the U.S.
Mine's not on there :( Well, I guess it's not a bad thing. But I'm suprised it was beat by Patterson, Peterson and Richardson.
Okay, you're not going to believe this, but I FINALLY figured out the serendipty that Asa alludes to. Seriously, it took me the whole weekend. And yes, 'tis a glorious serendipty indeed.
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