Most Common Last Names in Pennsylvania

Top 3 — Pennsylvania

#2 welsh

Williams

Patronymic

61,051 people

1 in every 172 Pennsylvania residents

Son of William, from the Germanic personal name Willahelm. Williams ranks this high because it traveled through several Pennsylvania populations at once: early British settlement, Welsh and English industrial workers, and Black Pennsylvanians whose numbers grew sharply in the 20th century.

#1 english

Brown

Descriptive

61,830 people

1 in every 170 Pennsylvania residents

From Old English 'brun', describing brown hair, complexion, or clothing. Brown sits first in Pennsylvania because it is both an old British Isles surname and a major surname in the state's Black communities, especially those expanded by the Great Migration into Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

#3 english

Johnson

Patronymic

55,603 people

1 in every 189 Pennsylvania residents

Son of John, from Hebrew 'Yohanan' meaning God is gracious. Johnson is one of Pennsylvania's broad-base surnames, common in both older Anglo-American lines and in the Black urban populations that reshaped the state's biggest cities after 1916.

Name origins â€” top 20 surnames

Name origins - top 20 surnames

Name origins — top 20 surnames

Heritage

Pennsylvania Germans, Coal Towns, and the Great Migration

Pennsylvania's most distinctive surname layer began in 1683, when Francis Daniel Pastorius and German Quakers founded Germantown outside Philadelphia. The Port of Philadelphia then recorded the arrival of chiefly German, Dutch, Swiss, and French immigrants through much of the 18th century, and by the American Revolution Pennsylvania Germans made up about one-third of the colony's population. In the 1800s, anthracite and steel drew Irish, Welsh, Italian, Polish, Slovak, and other workers into the coal fields and mill towns, while the 20th-century Great Migration strengthened Brown, Williams, Johnson, and Jackson in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

Did you know? Snyder ranks seventh in Pennsylvania but only 144th nationally, making it one of the clearest statewide fingerprints of Pennsylvania German settlement.

Top 20 Most Common Last Names in Pennsylvania

Showing all 20 surnames

Tap a name to expand meaning

Brown english

61,830

1 in 170

Williams welsh

61,051

1 in 172

Johnson english

55,603

1 in 189

Jones welsh

50,270

1 in 209

The classic Welsh patronymic, meaning son of John. Jones stayed unusually strong in Pennsylvania because Welsh migrants were prominent in the state's 19th-century mining and iron districts, especially before later eastern and southern European immigration changed the industrial workforce.

Davis welsh

42,507

1 in 247

Son of David, from Hebrew 'Dawid' meaning beloved. Like Jones, Davis reflects both older British settlement and the Welsh presence in Pennsylvania's industrial era, then broadened further through statewide urban growth.

Wilson scottish

30,621

1 in 343

Son of Will, a short form of William. Wilson fits Pennsylvania's long Scotch-Irish and northern English migration into the Susquehanna Valley and western frontier, and it remained common as Pittsburgh grew into a steel metropolis.

Snyder german

30,193

1 in 348

An anglicized form of German 'Schneider', meaning tailor. Snyder is one of Pennsylvania's signature surnames because German-speaking settlers put down deep roots in Lancaster, Berks, Lehigh, York, and neighboring counties from the colonial era onward.

Anderson scottish

26,328

1 in 399

Son of Anders or Andrew, from Greek 'Andreas'. Anderson reflects the Scotch-Irish and Scottish migration that moved into central and western Pennsylvania before the Revolution and stayed visible through the state's industrial expansion.

Taylor english

25,568

1 in 411

From Old French 'tailleur', one who cuts cloth. Taylor is a durable occupational surname in Pennsylvania, shared across colonial British families, later Appalachian migrants, and industrial-city households.

#10

Clark english

25,046

1 in 420

From Old English and Old French forms meaning clerk or scribe. Clark ranks high because Pennsylvania's surname base was never built by one ethnicity alone; it is one of the old English surnames that remained common through every major migration wave.

#11

White english

25,024

1 in 420

From Old English 'hwit', originally a nickname for light hair or complexion. White remained widespread in Pennsylvania because it entered early and was not tied to one religious, ethnic, or industrial enclave.

#12

Thompson scottish

24,348

1 in 432

Son of Thom, a short form of Thomas. Thompson is especially characteristic of the state's northern British and Scotch-Irish layer, which spread westward before the mining and mill era added newer surname groups.

#13

Myers german

24,219

1 in 434

Usually from German 'Meier' or 'Meyer', a steward or farm manager. Myers ranks far higher in Pennsylvania than nationally because Pennsylvania German surnames often shifted into English spellings while staying concentrated in the state's southeastern and central counties.

#14

Jackson english

23,363

1 in 450

Son of Jack, a medieval form of John. Jackson's strength in Pennsylvania reflects both older English-language surname stock and the state's large Black populations in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

#15

Baker english

21,024

1 in 500

An occupational name for a baker of bread. Baker works as a classic all-purpose Pennsylvania surname because it appears in English form across rural counties, old manufacturing towns, and the major cities alike.

#16

Robinson english

20,769

1 in 506

Son of Robin, a medieval diminutive of Robert. Robinson came through the same British and Ulster routes that supplied many families to Pennsylvania's interior and western counties in the 1700s.

#17

Campbell scottish

20,319

1 in 517

From the Gaelic 'cam beul', usually interpreted as crooked mouth. Campbell is one of the clearest Scottish surnames in Pennsylvania's top 20, fitting the state's strong Scotch-Irish and western Pennsylvania heritage.

#18

Fisher german

19,807

1 in 531

From German 'Fischer' or English 'Fisher', a fisherman. In Pennsylvania the surname often points to the Pennsylvania German layer, where many German occupational names were translated or simplified into English spellings.

#19

Scott scottish

19,700

1 in 534

Originally an ethnic name for a Scot or Gaelic speaker. Scott's high rank makes sense in a state where Scotch-Irish settlement strongly shaped the Appalachian ridges, the Susquehanna corridor, and western Pennsylvania.

#20

King english

19,625

1 in 536

From Old English 'cyning', king, first used as a nickname or status surname. King remained common in Pennsylvania because it belonged to the long-established English surname pool before later immigrant communities added their own distinct layers.

Local Insight

Uniquely Pennsylvania

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

Snyder german

Ranked #7 in Pennsylvania versus #144 nationally. That is 137 spots higher here.

Snyder is the Pennsylvania German surname in plain sight: an English spelling of Schneider that stayed concentrated in the commonwealth's old German counties. Its very high state rank reflects how fully German-speaking settlers became part of Pennsylvania's mainstream surname stock rather than remaining a small immigrant niche.

Moyer german

Ranked #35 in Pennsylvania versus #890 nationally. That is 855 spots higher here.

Moyer is a Pennsylvania form of Meyer or Meier, a German occupational and status surname. It is far more common in Pennsylvania than nationally because the name took root in the southeastern Pennsylvania German belt and persisted there through generations of local continuity.

Shaffer german

Ranked #39 in Pennsylvania versus #522 nationally. That is 483 spots higher here.

Shaffer is another Pennsylvania German surname that anglicized without disappearing. Its strong showing reflects the same Lancaster to Lehigh settlement corridor that preserved Snyder, Moyer, Kline, and other German-derived names in unusually high numbers.

Kline german

Ranked #48 in Pennsylvania versus #688 nationally. That is 640 spots higher here.

Kline comes from German 'klein', meaning small. Pennsylvania stands out for Kline because German-speaking farm and church communities stayed dense enough in the southeast and south-central counties to keep the surname far above its national profile.

Klingensmith german

Ranked #1000 in Pennsylvania versus #10131 nationally. That is 9131 spots higher here.

Klingensmith is a much rarer but even more state-specific Pennsylvania German name, derived from a German bladesmith surname. Its presence near Pennsylvania's top 1,000 shows how the state still preserves old German surname forms that are scarce almost everywhere else in the United States.

Etymology

Pennsylvania Last Name Meanings: Occupational, Patronymic & Habitational

Patronymic Names

Patronymics dominate Pennsylvania's top 20. Williams, Johnson, Jones, Davis, Wilson, Anderson, Thompson, Jackson, and Robinson all descend from personal names, reflecting the deep British, Welsh, Scottish, and Scotch-Irish roots of the colony and the later rise of those same surnames in Black Pennsylvania.

Williams (son of William) Johnson (son of John) Jones (son of John) Thompson (son of Thom)

Occupational Names

Occupational surnames are unusually visible in Pennsylvania because both English and German traditions favored them. Taylor, Clark, Baker, Snyder, and Fisher all point to work roles, and two of them, Snyder and Fisher, also mark the state's long Pennsylvania German settlement belt.

Snyder (tailor) Taylor (tailor) Baker (baker) Fisher (fisherman)

Pennsylvania German Names

Pennsylvania's most distinctive surname cluster comes from German-speaking settlers who began arriving in colonial numbers in the late 1600s and early 1700s. Names such as Snyder, Myers, Moyer, Shaffer, Kline, Wagner, Weaver, and Hoffman remain much more common here than in most states, especially across Lancaster, Berks, Lehigh, and neighboring counties.

Snyder (from Schneider) Myers (from Meier) Kline (small) Shaffer (German-derived surname)

Quick Answers

What are the most common last names in Pennsylvania?

The most common last names in Pennsylvania are Brown, Williams, Johnson, Jones, and Davis. In this dataset, Brown ranks first statewide, followed very closely by Williams and Johnson.

Why is Snyder so common in Pennsylvania?

Snyder is so common in Pennsylvania because it is an anglicized form of the German surname Schneider, and Pennsylvania had one of the largest and oldest German-speaking populations in colonial America. The surname stayed especially strong in the Pennsylvania German counties of the southeast and south-central part of the state.

Sources

Forebears - Most Common Surnames in Pennsylvania — Primary source for Pennsylvania surname counts, frequency ratios, state ranks, and national rank comparisons
U.S. Census Bureau - Pennsylvania 2010 Census — Official 2010 Pennsylvania population total used for page metadata and statewide context
Pennsylvania State Archives - Naturalization and Immigration Records — Official reference for Philadelphia passenger lists and the state's early German, Dutch, Swiss, and French immigration streams
Britannica - Pennsylvania German — Background on the 1683 founding of Germantown and the scale and geography of Pennsylvania German settlement
Britannica - Pennsylvania: People — Historical overview of Pennsylvania's German population, industrial-era immigration, and 20th-century African American migration into the state

Information is cross-referenced with official state archives.

#1 Surname: Brown
People named #1: 61,830
1 in every: 170 residents
Top origin: English
State population: 12,702,379
Census year: 2010

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Most Common Last Names in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Germans, Coal Towns, and the Great Migration

Top 20 Most Common Last Names in Pennsylvania

Uniquely Pennsylvania