Catholic Last Name Popularity, Meaning and Origin, Common Asian and Pacific Islander Surnames, Common American Indian/Alaskan Native Surnames. #926 BEAN Either from the word bene meaning friend, good person or occupational for someone who literally grew or sold beans. Although hyphenated last names are much more widely accepted than double-barrel surnames in the U.S., even they have faced roadblocks. #735 HUERTA Lives by the top of a hill or near a fortress. Some states, such as Louisiana, maintain policies that enforce patrilineal surnaming as a default when the father is known and supports the children, unless both partners agree otherwise. #353 MORAN Sea Warriors. #632 BOONE Good person or from Bohon, France. #282 WANG Chinese surname meaning king. #848 CONRAD Brave counsel. Some Cordilleran surnames that came from given names are Tayaban, Dulnuan, Pinkihan, and Tuguinay. #345 SCHWARTZ Person of dark or swarthy complexion. #875 AYERS Heir to a fortune or land. #201 ARNOLD Power of the Eagle. #612 HUFF Lives by a ridge or hollow. #667 ZAVALA From Zawada or Zawady, literally meaning fortress. #142 FERNANDEZ Son of Fernando #643 HODGE Pet form of the name Roger. #303 BREWER Occupational surname for a brewer (beer or ale maker). the third son, after the father. #705 HUMPHREY From the name elements hun meaning bear cub and fried meaning peace. Interpreted as peaceful warrior. (Double-barrel surnames can also retain patrilineal lineages of their own; Spain required that the fathers last name be listed firstand therefore be the next name that gets passed downuntil the laws started to change in 2000.) #430 FITZGERALD Son of Gerald. #906 BLEVINS Welsh surname from the word Blaid meaning wolf. #708 CLAY Occupational or habitational surname for someone who worked with clay or lived on clay land. Learn more about the world with our collection of regional and country maps. #128 BRYANT Family of Brian. #512 OROZCO Habitational name from Orozco, Spain. #518 CONNER An occupational surname for an inspector of weights and measures. Teresa), Emmerich (for Ven. records in their database, you can research your family name and discover amazing details you may never have known about your ancestors. #208 BRADLEY From the broad meadow. Smith 6. #727 WALTER Family of Walter. #368 MILES Son of Mile. 1 Available. #561 LAMB Occupational surname for a herder of sheep. #198 KELLEY Irish surname meaning bright headed or red-headed. #679 BOND Landowner who is bound by loyalty to the local lord. #814 SELLERS Occupational surname for someone who was a merchant/seller. #378 MANN Strong, manly. Moore 21. #776 WHITEHEAD Descriptional surname for someone with white or very light blonde hair. #362 HALE From the remote valley. $3,500/mo. #655 HORN An occupational surname for someone who either played a horn instrument or made small articles, like spoons, out of animal horn. #280 BURTON From the fortified town. #236 CHAPMAN Occupational surname meaning tradesperson or merchant. #25 HARRIS Son of Harry. #425 CHAN Chinese surname literally meaning field or plain. Find out where your family name is from, what your ancestors did for a living, and who they were, using Ancestry.com records. Unknown meaning. #859 HAHN German surname from the word hane meaning rooster, applied as a nickname for a conceited or sexually active man. #953 MAYNARD Strength, strong. Surname Origin Italian Last Names Italian Last Names Abate Abato Abbruzzese Abela Abella Abramo Abruzzese Abruzzo Accardi Accardo Accetta Accomando Accordino Aceto Achille Acierno Acquaviva Acquisto Acri Adami Adamo Addonizio Adduci #183 MEYER Mayor. Literally means forest of pines. #669 GLENN Lives in or near a valley. #344 SHELTON From the ledge/enclosure. #222 BERRY From the fortress, castle. I also have a Ph.D. in English and have written more than 4,000 articles for regional and national publications. #347 JENNINGS Family of little John. #829 NOBLE From nobility. #186 GARZA The heron bird. #733 STEPHENSON Son of Stephen. 2. #398 VELASQUEZ Son of Velasco. Today, women arent legally mandated to give their husbands last name to their children but U.S. bureaucracy has continued to enforce patrilineal naming conventions. #640 ROY Royal, Kingly. #476 SAUNDERS Family of Alexander. For example, during the period before the American Civil War when slave-owning was legal, many indentured people were forced to take on the names of those who purchased them, such as Roberts, Jacobs, or even last names that denoted skin color (like White, Black, or Brown). (S), or less than 100 total occurrences, were "Non-Hispanic White Only". Literally means foreign help. #580 HOOVER From the German Huber, meaning plot of land or farm. National Library of Ireland: Parish Registers, galway: Conealy (also commonly spelled Conneely and Connolly). Each approach has trade-offs. #619 PITTMAN Lives by a quarry or pit. #516 ANDRADE Habitational name for people who lived in the small parish of San Martio de Andrade in the town of Pontedeume, Galicia in Spain. #416 BLAIR Battlefield. #84 WOOD Lives in or near the woods. #302 ACOSTA From the coastal region. That study also offers a roadmap for how American surnaming norms could change. #6 GARCIA - Of unknown meaning. #395 BALDWIN Brave friend. #988 CANTRELL Occupational surname for a bell ringer (someone who rang the Chanterelles) or who sang in a choir. #7 MILLER Occupational surname for someone who worked in a mill. #197 DUNN Dark or brown in complexion. #716 VILLEGAS From the house near the village. #876 EVERETT Herd of wild boars. #170 HICKS Family of Richard. It signified their desire for greater freedom religiously and . #162 MENDEZ Contraction of Menendez, meaning son of Mendo. Literally means the gate at the boundary. #697 BOOTH Lives near a stall or hut. Theres this implicit understanding that having the fathers last name is inherently in the childs best interest, she said, citing cases where judges argued that taking the fathers surname would deepen the family relationship or provide children with more financial security later in life. #740 EATON From any number of towns called Eaton in the U.K. Some new demographics of American families, however, approach their names differently. #396 DANIEL God is my judge. #273 LI Chinese surname meaning Plum or Plum Tree. #841 SCHAEFER German occupational surname from the word schfer which means shepherd. #19 JACKSON Son of Jack/John. But these ripple effects through history and immigration status have led to the country we have today and the last names that you, your friends and family, and your acquaintances are known by. From the old English beste meaning beast. 15. #858 MEDRANO Abundance. #415 PAUL Small. #802 HENDRICKS Family of Hendrick/Heinrich. #599 COLLIER Occupational surname for someone who sells or burns charcoal. Despite a history of troubled relations between the two countries going back centuries, persons do intermarry and so, in those areas of the Irish Republic closest to Northern Ireland, it's harder to tell from the last name whether the family is Catholic or Protestant. She suspects that many heterosexual couples arent seriously discussing what they want their childs last name to be. #497 COLN Contraction of the name Colombo, meaning dove. A winner of an American Jurisprudence Award in Professional Legal Ethics, Rabbi Fischer also is the author of two books, including General Sharon's War Against Time Magazine, which covered the . #445 REESE From the given name Rhys, meaning enthusiasm, passion. We'll also look at the race and ethnic origin of people in the United States who are named Catholic. For Catholics, Lent 2023 is a time to act against antisemitism. #473 GUERRA Literally means war, used for a stubborn person or soldier. #413 FRANCIS Person from France or free man. Rodriguez is the least white-sounding of all Hispanic last names. Jennifer is widely regarded as the leading expert on popular baby name trends and the naming process, serving as the authoritative source on the subject for national and international media. Infoplease is a reference and learning site, combining the contents of an encyclopedia, a dictionary, an atlas and several almanacs loaded with facts. Baby names are an important cultural tradition across the world, and have been for thousands of years. #595 CLAYTON From the village of clay (on clay ground). #210 ELLIOTT Family of Elias. Several of the names that rank highly on this list are also predicted to be among the most popular baby names this year. #188 FERGUSON Son of Fergus. #950 DONALDSON Son of Donald. #150 CHEN Chinese surname meaning morning. Literally means fern-covered clearing. #719 WILKERSON Kin or son of William. 18. #699 GOLDEN Nickname surname for a blonde person, someone with golden hair. #633 KIRBY Lives near the Church/Farm. #464 CASTANEDA Literally translates to chestnut, and might have been used to describe a person with reddish-brown hair or worked a chestnut grove. Most probably had nothing to do with the actual moon. #429 SERRANO Lives near a mountain ridge or collection of hills. #762 CORDOVA Habitational surname for a family from the ancient city of Crdoba, Spain. #808 DUARTE A prosperous guardian. #254 DOMINGUEZ Son of Domingo #538 MACIAS Spanish/Jewish surname meaning Messiah. #505 FLOYD From the Welsh Lloyd or Llwyd, meaning grey. Is your family name on the list? #461 WU Chinese surname meaning gateway to heaven. #417 OCONNOR Son of Connor. #912 BENTON From the town with the bent grass. #999 TANG Vietnamese surname, meaning from the Tang dynasty. Although it currently means the religious leader of the Catholic church, it was a title used for clergy of any rank. #960 VO Vietnamese surname meaning fighter/soldier. Probably a habitational surname for a family who lived near tree stumps. Might go back to meaning campers on the river Legra. #262 BISHOP Occupational surname for a bishop. #141 HARRISON Son of harry. #93 CASTILLO Lives in or near the Castle. Persons in Ireland, like persons everywhere, pick up and move. #965 McPHERSON From the Gaelic surname Mac an Phearsain, meaning son of the parson. #212 DUNCAN Irish surname from the Gaelic meaning brown chief. #503 BUCHANAN Locational surname from the area of Buchanan in Stirlingshire, UK. #528 POPE Occupational surname. They printed her a license in which Hernndez was listed as the middle name and Grande as the last name, shortening her name to Alcia H. Grande. #546 BROCK Badger or mischievous person. #431 ROSALES From the place of roses. Probably used as a nickname for a magician or jokester. The surname is a variant of two Irish surnames: " Murchadha"/" Murchadh" (descendant of "Murchadh"), . #283 WEBER German occupational surname for a weaver. #801 McLEAN From the old Gaelic name Mac gille Eoin, literally meaning son of the devotee of Saint John. #746 GUEVARA From Guevara, Spain. #92 ALVAREZ Family of Alvaro. #229 CONTRERAS From the town of Contreras, Spain. #36 SCOTT From Scotland. I am a retired Registered Investment Advisor with 12 years experience as head of an investment management firm. #807 HULL Either a habitational surname for someone who lived on or near a hill, or from the given name Hulle, which was a nickname for Hugh. #43 NELSON Son of Neil. #972 DUDLEY From Duddas clearing Dudda was a nickname for a rotund/heavy person. #117 PATTERSON Son of Patrick. Mallinson thinks that is partly because of inertia. Kevin Clay. Similarly, when the Native American populations were forced into residential schools or reservations, many had their identity stripped away by the state and the government. #468 MACK Son of #382 FLETCHER Folk army. #261 VEGA From the plain, meadow. #747 STAFFORD From the landing by the ford. #278 McCOY Anglicized form of a Scottish surname meaning son of Aodh. #11 HERNANDEZ Son of Hernando. Surname Origins; All About Me; Compare-a-Face; Famous Relatives; Record My Story; Picture My Heritage; In-Home Activities; Enter your last name to find its meaning and origin. #75 HOWARD Occupational surname for a ewe herder. Attention: This site does not support the current version of your web browser. #99 FOSTER Occupational surname, a contraction of Forester. ETHNONYMS: Afro-French, Black Creoles, Black French, Creoles, Cr oles, Cr oles Noirs, Creoles of Color. #983 McCANN From the Gaelic surname MacCana, meaning descendant of the wolf cub. #767 JACOBSON Son of Jacob. Robinson was the 20th most popular name in 1990 but fell off the list, as Latino surnames become more common. #589 BASS Big/tall or an occupational surname for someone who caught or sold fish. #134 AGUILAR From a place name, meaning Eagle. #864 PECK Occupational surname for someone who dealt in pekkesa medieval measure of dry goods equal to 28 pounds. #781 BARR From the great hill. Research the Catholic Surname History Black Creole culture in southern Louisiana derives from contact and synthesis in the region over nearly three centuries between African slaves, French and Spanish colonists, gens libres de couleur (free people of color), Cajuns . #787 BLANKENSHIP From the hill with a cairn. #67 GUTIERREZ Son of Gutierre. Historically, surnames evolved as a way to sort people into groups - by occupation, place of origin, clan affiliation, patronage, parentage, adoption, and even physical characteristics (like red hair). #16 THOMAS Son of Thomas. #501 GLOVER Occupational surname for a glove maker or glove merchant. #510 SUAREZ From the southern army. #256 LAWSON Son of Lawrence #610 MASSEY Matthews land. #90 HUGHES Family of Hugh. 1. The share of women who themselves kept their surname after marriage was about 3 percent in 1975, when some states still required women to take their husbands name to register to vote. Ohanisian - This name is patronymic for the Armenian . #502 OSBORNE Viking name, literally meaning Bear God #285 ROJAS Red-headed or ruddy complexion. #350 WALTERS Family of Walter. #265 JENSEN Son of Jens #370 PHAM Vietnamese surame meaning extensive. In 2018, 8.8 percent of babies born in Shanghai received their mothers family name. #54 TURNER Occupational surname for someone who worked with a lathe. FamilySearch Terms of Use (Updated 2021-09-27), The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Because these settlers were some of the first Europeans to arrive in the New World and would go on to populate much of the vast, unsettled country, their names have stuck around for centuries. Common Surnames in the United States 1990 - Behind the Name Common Surnames in the United States Home Common Surnames Information from the U.S. Census Bureau. As such, you will find many Icelandic surnames ending in -son or -dttir, translating respectively to son of or daughter of, connecting to the genitive form of the father or mothers name preceding it. #815 LEBLANC French surname for someone who was pale or had very blond hair. The original locative name of Henry of the Marsh might be shortened over the years to Henry Marsh. Today, maternal and paternal influences can exist alongside hyphens and double-barrels and other assorted conventions. #30 ROBINSON Son of Robin, a nickname for Robert. Derderian - This is a patronymic last name for "son of derder" in Armenian and it translates to "son of a priest.". #315 NAVARRO Person from Navarre, France. Surnames, also known as family names, were first used during medieval times and usually referred to a person's occupation (i.e. #890 DUNLAP From the fort by the muddy place. Place name. #309 CURTIS Person with manners. Kelly 3. From Ceallaigh. #391 CHANG Chinese surname with many meanings. 2. #600 ZUNIGA From the town of Estuniga, Spain. cauldrons). #820 HOWE Lives near a man-made mound or burial mound. #837 ENRIQUEZ Son of Enrique. #511 BOWERS Occupational surname for a worker. Literally means Son of bringer of wisdom. #267 WILLIAMSON Son of William Shafer pointed to data from an ongoing study by researchers at Princeton and Columbia Universities, in which 707 unmarried mothers in a survey of 3,624about 19.5 percentreported that they would not give their child the fathers last name. Join the community of family history enthusiasts and FamilySearch employees to ask questions and discuss potential product enhancements. The most recent statistics we have for the Catholic surname is from the 2010 census data. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., seen here on Aug. 3, pressed Attorney General Merrick Garland on Wednesday on how many informants the FBI has in Catholic churches. #266 HARVEY Worthy of Battle. Daw was a nickname for David. #519 MOODY One of brave spirit. #996 ODOM Son-in-law of a prominent person. #603 MELENDEZ Visigoth surname meaning Entire Gift. Names rising in popularity over the past few decades include Nguyen, Lee, Zhang, Wong, and Kim. #703 MARKS Family of Mark or Marcus. Surnames developed in Ireland as early as the tenth century, making them among the first in Europe. #548 CHARLES Free man. #137 FORD Lives by a shallow place in the river. #916 CRANE Nickname surname given to a man who was tall and thin like a crane (bird). #816 ESPARZA Occupational surname for a professional swordsman/soldier. #349 DURAN Literally means durable, hard. #213 ARMSTRONG Literally means strong man. #243 WHEELER Occupational surname for a person who made wagon wheels. This is as much a reflection of the conversations that couples haveor dontas it is a product of desk-clerk-level policies. #659 DICKERSON Son of Richard. #963 ANDERSEN Son of Anders/Andrew. #472 ZHANG Chinese surname meaning archer. We . #718 KEITH Nickname for an offspring or young person. #578 RANGEL Spanish/Portuguese surname, meaning unknown. 14. It was a respectable movement involving the most responsible and accomplished people of France. #230 WILLIS Family of William. For example, those of Spanish descent have an interesting way to denote familial lines through the last name alone. #976 HESTER Either lives by the beech tree, or an occupational surname for a herald/town crier. #276 HANSON Son of Hans. #380 DAWSON Son of David. Last Tuesday in New York City, members of the National Socialist Party, otherwise known as neo . Some examples of this naming convention include a Viking settler of Vinland in North America, named Gudrid Thorbjarnardttir; author of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson; and the first female prime minister of Iceland in 2009, Jhanna Sigurardttir. #205 PETERS Family o Peter. Or if youre curious about America as a whole, why not take our U.S. States Quiz and test your knowledge? #744 MACDONALD Son of Donald. #566 OLSEN Son of Olaf. How to name ones family should be a choice for each couple. And across the west coast and Hawaii, you might find last names of Asian descent, including Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai, or Japanese. #377 McKINNEY Form of the Gaelic Mac Cionaodha meaning son of Cionaodha (pagan god of fire). #221 DELGADO Slender, skinny. #668 HENSLEY Habitational surname for someone who lived in or near Hensley, UK. #883 McMAHON From the Gaelic surname Mac Mathghamha, which means son of the Bear. The first thing to understand about the patrilineal surnames commonly used in the United States is that they are not universal. From Smith to Sullivan, Sanders to Myers, and Reyes to Roberts, read on for the most popular family names found across the United States! Catholic, like all of the names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. #342 FLEMING Flemish (Belgian/Dutch) person or from Flanders, Belgium. #341 SUTTON From the South. #17 TAYLOR From the family of the tailor. #484 INGRAM People from England. #401 AGUIRRE From a prominent place. #441 DOYLE Irish surname from the Gaelic Dhubh-ghall meaning dark stranger. #154 GUZMAN Lived in or near the town of Guzmn, Spain. The FamilySearch Library has digitized records for the years 1594 to 1924 from the main Cathedral in St. Augustine, indexes, and various transcripts. #748 ENGLISH Person from England. Sylmarie Dvila-Montero Read: The gender researchers guide to an equal marriage. Join the movement! #130 GIBSON Son of Gilbert (nicknamed Gib). #155 BURNS Lives by the stream. #852 FITZPATRICK Son of Patrick #809 ELLISON Son of Ellis/Elias/Elijah. In my case, my dad's surnames are "Dvila Estrada" and my mom's surnames are "Montero Caro" so mine are "Dvila Montero". #118 ALEXANDER Defending Men possibly an occupational surname for a soldier. #919 VILLALOBOS From the town of Villalobos, Spain, meaning the village of wolves. Accessed on March 4, 2023. https://namecensus.com/last-names/catholic-surname-popularity/. #82 BROOKS Family who lived by or near a brook (creek). #778 KENT From Kent, England or literally from the coast. #20 MARTIN From the god of Mars. #39 HILL Family who lived near or on a hill. #394 FUENTES Fountains. #742 DYER Occupational surname for someone who dyed either cloth or hair or hide. Garcia leapfrogged from number 18 to number eight, while Rodriguez went up from 22 to nine. Tue Oct 25 2016 - 15:19. #340 CARRILLO Spanish surname, literally means cheek. From cart/wagon, so it may be occupational. #714 GILMORE From the Celtic surname MacGille Mhoire, meaning servant of the Virgin Mary. #4 BROWN - Surname from a nickname for someone with a dark complexion or hair. #550 BARRERA Family that lived near muddy area or ground of clay. #549 DRAKE Dragon. . #760 STRONG Descriptive surname for a person who was physically strong. Abbott Save Image: Shutterstock #427 KHAN Chief, ruler. #318 VILA From the city of Avila, Spain. In 2007, when one researcher was studying state last-name policies, the New Hampshire DMV reported that its computer system couldnt add hyphens to last names. From Old English word, burna. #402 LIN Chines surname meaning from the forest. #792 DURHAM Habitational surname for a family from Durham, U.K. literally meaning by the hill. Alberto Sephardim fanned out fro Iberia to all parts of the known world: Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North Africa, the Ottoman Empire, the New World, Central and . #964 SPENCE Occupational surname for someone in charge of a pantry/goods in an estate. #565 BEIL From the German bil meaning axe. #560 SHAFFER German occupational surname for someone who was a household manager or steward. Examples: Roderick GuerreroRoderick, the warrior or soldier Lucas VicarioLucas, the vicar Carlos ZapateroCarlos, the shoemaker #385 LOVE From the French louve meaning a female wolf. #462 HINES Occupational surname for a deer keeper or tender. 0.00%, or 0 total occurrences, were "Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native". #387 CERVANTES From old Spanish meaning servant or the word ciervo, meaning stag or a womans man. The most recent statistics we have for the Catholic surname is from the 2010 census data. #520 ESCOBAR Habitational surname for someone who lived in or near a place overgrown with broom (a shrub with long, thin green stems). Literally Priests Town. #673 RUBIO Red-headed or someone with a ruddy complexion. Kennedy 17. Liiterally means opposite. O'Carroll 23. #373 THORNTON Lives in or near the town with thorns. #683 DILLON From or near Dilwyn in Herefordshire, UK. #656 BARRON Occupational surname for someone with the title of Baron, or a nickname for someone who acts higher than his station. #77 KIM Korean surname meaning gold. #245 HARPER Occupational surname for someone who played or made harps. #522 LLOYD From the Welsh Llwyd, meaning grey. #980 NOVAK The newcomer/new one. #763 BARAJAS Habitational surname for a family from any number of villages of that name. #111 GONZALES Son/Family of Gonzalo. #571 PETERSEN Son of Peter. #255 CARR From an area of wet, rough ground #491 WATERS From the place near the water, or family of Walter. #9 RODRIGUEZ Son of Rodrigo. In the U.S., patrilineal surnames have long been the normin 1881, a New York court said that the common law among all English speaking people demanded that wives give up their last name. #653 WYATT Brave warrior. #493 CAMACHO Twisted or disfigured. #895 McKAY From the Gaelic surname MacAodh, literally meaning son of fire. #492 LOGAN From the Irish surname OLeoghain, meaning descendant of the warrior. #741 BLACKWELL Lives near the black stream. #223 PERKINS Son of Peter. #706 BAXTER Occupational surname meaning a female baker. #328 BECK Leaves by the stream. #555 MERCADO Occupational surname for someone who works in a market. #783 DEJESUS Follower of Jesus Christ. #861 SMALL Person who is short or small. #836 HEBERT Illustrious soldier. #457 POTTER Occupational surname for someone who made pottery. #530 VELAZQUEZ Son of Velasco. Clair The word may have origins in French and Latin. #771 KERR From the word kjarr, meaning wet ground covered with brush. #311 DOUGLAS From the dark or green river. #406 BARBER Occupational surname for a barber. #759 SALGADO Galician and Portuguese nickname surname for someone who was witty or wry, from the word salgado meaning salty. #822 FROST Nickname surname for a person who had white hair or who had a frosty disposition. #203 VAZQUEZ Son of Vasco. #581 SHORT Nickname for a short person. #701 BRENNAN From the Irish surname O Braonin, meaning descendant of Braonn. Literally means raindrop or drop of moisture. #509 TYLER Occupational surname for a tailor. #322 HOPKINS From the family of Hob (nickname for Robert). #32 YOUNG Meaning the younger. Surname given to a son of a man, when they had the same name. #532 McCORMICK Son of Cormac. #515 GIBBS Family of Gilbert (Gib was a nickname for Gilbert). #609 COPELAND Bought land. O'Neill 11. #202 PIERCE Family of Peter. Such surnames include Roberts, Lewis, Phillips, Edwards, Evans, Cooper, Hughes, Rogers, Bailey, Scott, and more. Here are the top 100 names as ranked by the 2010 Census. #911 BEST Occupational surname for someone who was a cattle-herder or dealer. 16. #678 ARROYO Habitational surname from any of numerous places named Arroyo, literally meaning water channel or irrigation channel. #725 ROSARIO Contraction of the Spanish Mara del Rosario, given to a girl who was born on the festival of Our Lady of the Rosary, celebrated on the first Sunday in October. #216 LANE Irish surname from OLaighin, meaning the descendant of Laighean. #191 SOTO Lives in or near the small forest. When two people with double-barrel last names have children, they each pass down the first of their two last names. Names today no longer denote a profession, hometown, or mark of ownership; instead, they reflect what a family values. Several states, including Indiana, North Dakota, and Rhode Island, require unmarried mothers to pass down their surnames as a default (unless there is a paternity affidavit or written consent, depending on the state). The trend of naming people after the places that they come from goes beyond the English language, as many German, Dutch Norwegian, and Swedish last names end in -berg (which means mountain in those languages). #888 MAGANA Habitational name from either of the villages named Magaa, in Soria and Crdoba provinces in Spain. #923 QUINTANA Country house. #695 PONCE Derived from the name Pontius, from the Greek pontos meaning ocean. #857 RAYMOND Counsel protection. The percentage of American babies born with the top 10 most popular first names for boys in their time has fallen dramatically in the past century, from 40 percent in the 1880s to 8 percent by 2015, a statistic that might reflect a rise in people using names to signal their identity. #691 HO Chinese surname with several meanings, descriptive of a chin waddle or characteristic long-lasting. #908 CLEMENTS Family of Clement. I think you can say with a very high degree of confidence that unmarried parents are less likely to pass down the fathers last name, Emily Shafer, a sociologist at Portland State University, told me. #702 McDOWELL From the old Gaelic surname, MacDubhghaill meaning son of the dark one. #268 GILBERT Bright Pledge. #449 ADKINS Family or son of Adam. #752 SHANNON From the Gaelic OSionain, an occupational surname for someone who worked with straw. #830 SPEARS Occupational surname for a keeper of the Watch, which was an early form of a police officer. #700 WARE Occupational surname for someone who was employed at a weir or dam, or habitational surname for someone who lived near one. #590 GREER From the family of Gregory. #379 ZIMMERMAN Occupational surname for a master carpenter. It is an eternal promise that we, who, through our concupiscence, are so often wicked, can still be saved, no matter what we have done or how many times we have done it, by turning away from it . #446 WALTON From the walled town. #386 ROBLES From the village of Robles, in the province of Leon, Spain. #978 LU Chinese surname of unknown meaning. Most probably used for someone who was brave and formidable in battle.