Most Common Last Names in Nebraska

Top 3 — Nebraska

#2 english

Smith

Occupational

13,631 people

1 in every 148 Nebraska residents

From Old English 'smith', a metalworker. Smith stayed common on the Nebraska frontier because every railroad town and county seat needed blacksmiths, wagon repairers, and farm tool makers.

#1 english

Johnson

Patronymic

15,840 people

1 in every 127 Nebraska residents

Son of John, from Hebrew 'Yohanan' meaning God is gracious. Johnson leads Nebraska partly because it fits both older English naming patterns and Scandinavian anglicization, especially in Danish and Swedish farming communities that spread across eastern and central Nebraska in the late 1800s.

#3 scandinavian

Anderson

Patronymic

9,755 people

1 in every 207 Nebraska residents

Son of Anders or Andrew. Anderson ranks unusually high in Nebraska because Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian settlers carried Andersen and Andersson into the Platte Valley and many families simplified the spelling after arrival.

Name origins â€” top 20 surnames

Name origins - top 20 surnames

Name origins — top 20 surnames

Heritage

Scandinavian Prairies, German Counties, and Czech Nebraska

Nebraska's surname map was shaped by immigrant farm belts that formed after the territory opened in 1854 and accelerated with the railroad era. By 1910, one in five Nebraskans was a German immigrant or the child of one, and between 1856 and World War I about 50,000 Czech immigrants chose Nebraska, giving the state the country's highest per-capita Czech population. Danish settlements around Dannebrog and Blair, Swedish communities such as Swedeburg in Saunders County, and German-Russian neighborhoods in Lincoln all helped keep Scandinavian and Central European surnames unusually prominent.

Did you know? Svoboda, the Czech surname meaning 'freedom,' ranks 158th in Nebraska but only 5,380th nationally in Forebears data, one of the clearest signs of the state's Czech settlement.

Top 20 Most Common Last Names in Nebraska

Showing all 20 surnames

Tap a name to expand meaning

Johnson english

15,840

1 in 127

Smith english

13,631

1 in 148

From Old English 'smith', a metalworker. Smith stayed common on the Nebraska frontier because every railroad town and county seat needed blacksmiths, wagon repairers, and farm tool makers.

Anderson scandinavian

9,755

1 in 207

Miller english

9,238

1 in 218

Occupational name for a miller, from Old English and German equivalents. In Nebraska it reflects both English-origin settlement and the anglicizing of German 'Muller' and related surnames in heavily German rural counties.

Brown english

7,729

1 in 261

From Old English 'brun', originally a nickname for brown hair or complexion. Brown spread with American-born settlers moving west into Nebraska during the homestead years after the Civil War.

Nelson scandinavian

6,562

1 in 307

Usually son of Nels or Nils, the Scandinavian form of Nicholas. Nebraska's strong Danish and Swedish settlement pushed Nelson into the top 10, especially in communities tied to Lutheran churches and prairie farming colonies.

Jones welsh

6,193

1 in 325

A Welsh and English patronymic meaning son of John. Jones arrived with migrants from Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, and the Upper South during Nebraska's first large settlement waves.

Williams welsh

6,143

1 in 328

Son of William, from the Germanic 'Willahelm'. Williams remains common statewide because it came with English-speaking settlers long before Nebraska's immigrant farm belt filled in.

Peterson scandinavian

5,427

1 in 371

Son of Peter. Peterson ranks much higher in Nebraska than nationally because Danish and Swedish settlers often anglicized Petersen and Petersson into Peterson after establishing farms across eastern and central Nebraska.

#10

Davis welsh

5,265

1 in 383

Son of David, from Hebrew 'Dawid' meaning beloved. Davis came west with English-speaking migrants who followed railroad and homestead opportunities into Nebraska in the late 19th century.

#11

Hansen danish

5,113

1 in 394

Son of Hans, the Danish and German form of John. Hansen's high Nebraska ranking reflects the state's Danish settlements, including Howard County communities such as Dannebrog and nearby Nysted.

#12

Meyer german

4,453

1 in 452

From German 'Meier', an estate manager or tenant farmer. Meyer is a classic Nebraska German surname, reinforced by the dense German settlement that made some northeast counties overwhelmingly German by the late 19th century.

#13

Thompson english

4,416

1 in 456

Son of Thomas. Thompson spread through Nebraska with British and American-born settlers who moved into the state during the railroad boom and county-formation era.

#14

Jensen danish

4,393

1 in 459

Son of Jens, the Danish form of John. Jensen is one of the clearest signs of Danish Nebraska, especially in central and eastern communities shaped by Danish Lutheran settlement.

#15

Wilson english

4,168

1 in 483

Son of Will, a short form of William. Wilson was well established in Nebraska by the late territorial period and remained common as English-speaking migrants filled the state's farm counties.

#16

White english

3,820

1 in 527

From Old English 'hwit', originally describing light hair or complexion. White traveled west with the same broad stream of Midwestern and Upper South migration that populated much of rural Nebraska.

#17

Clark english

3,759

1 in 536

From Old English 'clerc', a clerk, scholar, or literate official. Clark became common in Nebraska's county-seat culture, where courts, rail depots, and land offices turned literacy into a practical profession.

#18

Moore english

3,754

1 in 537

From Old English 'mor', someone who lived near open or marshy land. Moore came with Anglo-American settlers and stayed widespread because it was already common before large immigrant enclaves formed.

#19

Taylor english

3,671

1 in 549

From Old French 'tailleur', a cutter of cloth. Taylor followed commerce into Nebraska's early towns, where merchants and tradespeople grew alongside homestead farming.

#20

Martin french

3,524

1 in 572

From Latin 'Martinus', meaning of Mars. Martin appears in both English-speaking and Central European Nebraska families, which helps explain its steady statewide presence.

Local Insight

Uniquely Nebraska

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

Svoboda czech

Ranked #158 in Nebraska versus #5380 nationally. That is 5222 spots higher here.

Svoboda means 'freedom' in Czech, and Nebraska's unusually high ranking comes from the state's enormous Czech settlement between 1856 and World War I. Saunders, Colfax, Saline, and other eastern counties helped make Nebraska the leading per-capita Czech state in America.

Sorensen danish

Ranked #111 in Nebraska versus #1131 nationally. That is 1020 spots higher here.

A Danish patronymic meaning son of Soren, Sorensen reflects the chain migration that created Danish communities in places such as Dannebrog, Blair, and other Lutheran settlement centers. Nebraska's Danish institutions, including the precursor to Dana College, helped preserve these surnames longer than in many neighboring states.

Jorgensen danish

Ranked #148 in Nebraska versus #1521 nationally. That is 1373 spots higher here.

Jorgensen, meaning son of Jorgen, is another strong Danish marker in Nebraska. Its relative concentration tracks the same central and eastern Nebraska settlements that kept Jensen, Petersen, and Sorensen prominent.

Harms german

Ranked #166 in Nebraska versus #2374 nationally. That is 2208 spots higher here.

Harms is a North German patronymic that appears far more often in Nebraska than nationally because German farm settlement was so dense across the state. By 1910, one in five Nebraskans was a German immigrant or the child of one, and those naming patterns remain visible.

Wiese german

Ranked #178 in Nebraska versus #3484 nationally. That is 3306 spots higher here.

From German 'Wiese', meaning meadow, this surname is much more common in Nebraska than in the country as a whole. It reflects the state's German and German-Russian communities, including the neighborhoods that formed in Lincoln and the rural counties of the northeast.

Etymology

Nebraska Last Name Meanings: Occupational, Patronymic & Habitational

Scandinavian Patronymics

Nebraska is unusually full of Danish and Swedish patronymics. Anderson, Nelson, Peterson, Hansen, and Jensen all rank in the top 15, a legacy of settlements in places such as Dannebrog, Blair, and Swedeburg where church life, language, and family naming traditions stayed strong into the 20th century.

Anderson (son of Anders) Nelson (son of Nels or Nils) Hansen (son of Hans) Jensen (son of Jens)

Occupational Names

Occupational surnames remain a major part of Nebraska's top 20 because frontier towns needed skilled trades and because German names often merged into familiar English spellings. Smith, Miller, Meyer, Clark, and Taylor all reflect work that mattered in railroad towns, county seats, and farm service centers.

Smith (metalworker) Miller (grain miller) Meyer (estate manager) Clark (clerk or scholar)

Central European Heritage Names

Some of Nebraska's most distinctive surnames came from the state's German and Czech immigration. German settlement was dense enough that almost every county shows a substantial German footprint, while Czech migration made Nebraska the country's strongest per-capita center for names like Svoboda and Novak.

Svoboda (freedom) Novak (newcomer) Harms (son of Harm) Wiese (meadow)

Quick Answers

Why are Scandinavian surnames so common in Nebraska?

Scandinavian surnames are common in Nebraska because Danish and Swedish immigrants founded durable farm communities across central and eastern Nebraska in the late 1800s. That settlement pattern kept names like Anderson, Nelson, Hansen, Jensen, and Peterson much more prominent here than in most states.

Why is Svoboda more common in Nebraska than in most states?

Svoboda is much more common in Nebraska because the state attracted about 50,000 Czech immigrants between 1856 and World War I, more per capita than any other state. Eastern Nebraska counties preserved Czech language, churches, and family networks long enough for surnames like Svoboda to remain highly visible.

Sources

Forebears.io - Most Common Last Names in Nebraska — Statewide surname rankings, counts, frequencies, and U.S. comparison ranks
U.S. Census Bureau - Nebraska 2010 Census Population Totals — Official 2010 Nebraska population total used for page metadata
History Nebraska - German Immigrants in Nebraska — German settlement context, including the 1910 estimate that one in five Nebraskans was a German immigrant or child of one
History Nebraska - The Czech-American Experience — Czech migration context, including the estimate of about 50,000 Czech immigrants to Nebraska between 1856 and World War I
History Nebraska - How a Lexington meatpacking plant changed Nebraska — Modern immigration context for Nebraska's changing surname mix after 1990

Information is cross-referenced with official state archives.

#1 Surname: Johnson
People named #1: 15,840
1 in every: 127 residents
Top origin: English
State population: 1,826,341
Census year: 2010

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Most Common Last Names in Nebraska

Scandinavian Prairies, German Counties, and Czech Nebraska

Top 20 Most Common Last Names in Nebraska

Uniquely Nebraska