Most Common Last Names in Missouri

Top 3 — Missouri

#2 english

Johnson

Patronymic

72,550 people

1 in every 140 Missouri residents

Son of John, from Hebrew 'Yohanan' (God is gracious). Johnson is common across Missouri because it belongs to both the southern migrant stream that filled the uplands and the Black communities that grew in St. Louis, Kansas City, and the southeast after the Civil War.

#1 english

Smith

Occupational

95,001 people

1 in every 107 Missouri residents

From Old English 'smið', a metalworker or blacksmith. Smith became Missouri's top surname because it arrived early with settlers moving up the Mississippi and Missouri rivers after the Louisiana Purchase, then spread across both Ozark farm counties and the state's largest cities.

#3 welsh

Williams

Patronymic

71,768 people

1 in every 141 Missouri residents

Son of William, from the Norman personal name 'Willahelm', meaning resolute protector. In Missouri, Williams is especially strengthened by African American naming patterns that took shape in slavery and emancipation, then expanded further with migration into St. Louis and Kansas City in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Name origins â€” top 20 surnames

Name origins - top 20 surnames

Name origins — top 20 surnames

Heritage

Ozark Uplands, German River Towns, and a Border State Mix

Upland counties in the south and center were settled heavily by families moving west from Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia in the early 1800s, which helps explain the dominance of Smith, Johnson, Jones, Brown, and Davis. St. Louis began as a French town and became a major immigrant gateway, and between 1830 and 1840 more than 38,000 Germans settled the corridor from St. Louis to Hermann that later became known as the Missouri Rhineland. Missouri's border-state history also matters: slavery, the Dred Scott case in St. Louis, postwar Black communities, and later migration into St. Louis and Kansas City helped keep surnames such as Williams, Jackson, Harris, and Robinson high in the statewide ranking.

Did you know? Meyer ranks 32nd in Missouri and Mueller 75th, both far above their national standing. That pairing is a visible remnant of the nineteenth-century German immigration that reshaped St. Louis and the Missouri River towns.

Top 20 Most Common Last Names in Missouri

Showing all 20 surnames

Tap a name to expand meaning

Smith english

95,001

1 in 107

Johnson english

72,550

1 in 140

Williams welsh

71,768

1 in 141

Jones welsh

63,932

1 in 159

A Welsh patronymic meaning son of John. Jones moved into Missouri with families from Kentucky and Tennessee in the early nineteenth century, making it one of the surnames most closely tied to the state's Upper South settlement pattern.

Brown english

61,065

1 in 166

From Old English 'brun', originally referring to hair color, complexion, or clothing. Brown is widespread in Missouri because it sits comfortably in every major stream of settlement, from early southern migrants to Black urban neighborhoods and older river towns.

Davis welsh

50,085

1 in 202

Son of David, from Hebrew 'Dawid' (beloved). Davis was already well established in the southern states before Missouri statehood in 1821, and it spread quickly through central Missouri and the western frontier counties as migration pushed toward the Santa Fe corridor.

Miller english

47,220

1 in 215

A miller, the operator of a grain mill. Miller is especially strong in Missouri because English Miller and German Muller often converged here, particularly in St. Louis and the Missouri Rhineland after the German immigration wave of the 1830s and 1840s.

Wilson english

36,769

1 in 276

Son of Will, a short form of William. Wilson followed the same westward route as many other Upper South surnames, moving into the Ozarks and interior river counties with farm families from Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia.

Moore english

35,235

1 in 288

From Old English 'mor', someone who lived near open moorland or rough ground. In Missouri the name came largely with southern migrants, but it also picked up Irish Moore lines in St. Louis, where immigration broadened the surname base beyond the uplands.

#10

Taylor english

31,915

1 in 318

From Old French 'tailleur', a cutter of cloth. Taylor appears across Missouri from the earliest years of American settlement, showing how durable English occupational surnames remained in a state built by both frontier farming and market towns.

#11

Jackson english

30,265

1 in 335

Son of Jack, a medieval form of John. Jackson carries both frontier and Black Missouri associations, and its visibility rose in a state where Andrew Jackson's era reshaped western settlement while Black Missourians also carried the name into the twentieth century.

#12

Harris english

29,565

1 in 343

Son of Harry, a medieval form of Henry. Harris ranks high in Missouri partly because it traveled well across the state's regional divides, appearing among early southern settlers and later in St. Louis and Kansas City Black communities.

#13

Thomas welsh

29,380

1 in 345

From the given name Thomas, from Aramaic 'toma', meaning twin. Thomas reflects the Welsh and border-English contribution to Missouri's early American population, especially in counties settled from Kentucky and the lower Ohio Valley.

#14

White english

28,758

1 in 353

From Old English 'hwit', describing someone with pale hair or complexion. White appears across old farming counties, river towns, and city neighborhoods, making it one of Missouri's most evenly distributed traditional English surnames.

#15

Anderson scottish

27,722

1 in 366

Son of Andrew or Anders, from Greek 'Andreas'. Anderson in Missouri reflects both Scots-Irish naming carried into the uplands and northern European immigrant lines that entered St. Louis during the nineteenth century.

#16

Thompson english

25,592

1 in 396

Son of Thom, a shortened form of Thomas. Thompson is another surname rooted in the state's early migration from the Upper South, and it remained strong because Missouri's rural settlement spread through kin networks rather than a single immigrant surge.

#17

Clark english

24,005

1 in 422

From Old English 'clerc', originally a cleric or literate record keeper. Clark was common in frontier Missouri by the time St. Louis became the launching point for the Lewis and Clark expedition in 1804, and the name stayed prominent as county governments and trading towns multiplied.

#18

Robinson english

23,182

1 in 437

Son of Robin, a medieval diminutive of Robert. Robinson is notably strong in Missouri because it appears in both old southern settler lines and Black communities shaped by emancipation, segregation, and twentieth-century migration into the state's industrial centers.

#19

Lewis welsh

22,537

1 in 450

Usually derived from the personal name Lewis, an English form associated with both Germanic Ludwig and Welsh Llywelyn traditions. In Missouri it traveled west with early American settlers and gained extra visibility in a state whose best known exploration story begins in St. Louis with Meriwether Lewis.

#20

Allen english

21,455

1 in 473

From the personal name Alan or Allen, probably of Celtic or Breton origin. Allen is one of the surnames that spread so widely with southern migration that it now reads as a general Missouri name rather than the marker of any single region.

Local Insight

Uniquely Missouri

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

Meyer german

Ranked #32 in Missouri versus #142 nationally. That is 110 spots higher here.

Meyer, from a German word for a steward or tenant farmer, ranks far higher in Missouri than it does nationally. The reason is straightforward: St. Louis and the Missouri Rhineland absorbed a major German immigration stream after 1829, and Meyer stayed visible because many of those communities kept German churches, schools, and newspapers well into the late nineteenth century.

Mueller german

Ranked #75 in Missouri versus #422 nationally. That is 347 spots higher here.

Mueller is the German equivalent of Miller, and Missouri is one of the states where many families kept the original spelling rather than fully anglicizing it. Its elevated rank reflects the same German belt that ran from St. Louis through St. Charles, Washington, and Hermann.

Schmidt german

Ranked #80 in Missouri versus #160 nationally. That is 80 spots higher here.

Schmidt means smith in German and points directly to Missouri's long German presence. It is especially telling alongside Smith because both versions remained common in the same state, a sign that immigrant families did not all merge linguistically at the same speed.

Weber german

Ranked #112 in Missouri versus #244 nationally. That is 132 spots higher here.

Weber, meaning weaver, is another Missouri surname lifted by nineteenth-century German settlement. Its statewide standing is higher than the national pattern would suggest because St. Louis was not just a port of entry, but also a place where German-speaking neighborhoods and institutions endured for generations.

Kemper german

Ranked #1000 in Missouri versus #3173 nationally. That is 2173 spots higher here.

Kemper is a less common surname nationally but much more visible in Missouri, where the German surname tail runs unusually deep. Names like Kemper show that Missouri's German influence was not confined to a few famous families or a handful of river towns; it entered the broader statewide surname pool.

Etymology

Missouri Last Name Meanings: Occupational, Patronymic & Habitational

Occupational Names

Occupational surnames sit near the center of Missouri's list, led by Smith at number one and reinforced by Miller, Taylor, and Clark. That mix reflects both English naming traditions from southern settlers and the German immigrant current that helped keep Miller, Meyer, Mueller, Schmidt, and Weber unusually visible.

Smith (metalworker) Miller (grain mill operator) Taylor (tailor) Clark (cleric or clerk)

Patronymic Names

Patronymics dominate Missouri's top 20. Johnson, Williams, Jones, Davis, Wilson, Jackson, Harris, Thomas, Anderson, Thompson, Robinson, Lewis, and Allen all descend from a father's given name, which fits a state settled heavily by English, Welsh, and Scots-Irish families moving west out of the Upper South.

Johnson (son of John) Williams (son of William) Jones (son of John, Welsh form) Thompson (son of Thom)

German Heritage Names

Missouri's most distinctive surname layer is German. The 1830s and 1840s immigration surge into St. Louis and the Missouri River corridor raised surnames like Meyer, Mueller, Schmidt, and Weber far above what their national rank alone would predict, leaving a durable signature that many Southern states do not share.

Meyer (steward or tenant farmer) Mueller (miller) Schmidt (smith) Weber (weaver)

Quick Answers

Why are German last names so common in Missouri?

German last names are unusually common in Missouri because the state received a major wave of German immigration in the nineteenth century, especially in St. Louis and the Missouri River towns between St. Charles and Hermann. That is why surnames such as Meyer, Mueller, Schmidt, and Weber rank higher in Missouri than they do nationally.

Sources

Forebears Missouri Surnames — Primary source for Missouri surname incidence, frequency, state rank, and national rank comparisons
U.S. Census Bureau: Frequently Occurring Surnames — National 2010 surname baseline used to contextualize origins, common-name patterns, and national rank comparisons
Missouri State Archives: Timeline of Historic Missouri — Missouri state history timeline, including the 1829 to 1840 German immigration wave into the Missouri Rhineland and other settlement milestones
City of St. Louis: Peopling St. Louis — Historical overview of St. Louis immigration, including Irish and German settlement and the city's role in Missouri's demographic history

Information is cross-referenced with official state archives.

#1 Surname: Smith
People named #1: 95,001
1 in every: 107 residents
Top origin: English
State population: 5,988,927
Census year: 2010

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Most Common Last Names in Missouri

Ozark Uplands, German River Towns, and a Border State Mix

Top 20 Most Common Last Names in Missouri

Uniquely Missouri