Most Common Last Names in Rhode Island

Top 3 — Rhode Island

#2 english

Brown

Descriptive

3,710 people

1 in every 284 Rhode Island residents

From Old English 'brun', usually describing brown hair, complexion, or clothing. Brown is one of Rhode Island's durable colonial surnames, surviving every later immigration wave because it was already widespread in Providence, Newport, and the farming towns before industrialization.

#1 english

Smith

Occupational

5,087 people

1 in every 207 Rhode Island residents

From Old English 'smith', a metalworker. Smith stayed on top in Rhode Island because it came with the colony's earliest English families and remained common through the state's long manufacturing era after Pawtucket's 1790 textile breakthrough.

#3 english

Johnson

Patronymic

3,188 people

1 in every 330 Rhode Island residents

Son of John, from the Hebrew name Yohanan, meaning God is gracious. Johnson belongs to Rhode Island's oldest English naming layer, but its rank also reflects how easily the surname crossed into later Black and immigrant communities.

Name origins â€” top 20 surnames

Name origins - top 20 surnames

Name origins — top 20 surnames

Heritage

Colonial Names, Mill Labor, and the Lusophone Shore

Rhode Island's surname map begins with 17th-century English settlement, which helps keep Smith, Brown, Johnson, and Jones near the top. The industrial shift came early in 1790, when mechanized textile production began in Pawtucket, and the next century of mill growth drew immigrants from Ireland, French Canada, Italy, Portugal, and Cape Verde into a very small state. By 1920, 70% of Woonsocket's population was French or French Canadian, while Providence and East Providence developed durable Lusophone communities that pushed Silva, Medeiros, Costa, Cabral, Santos, and Ferreira far above their national visibility.

Did you know? Rhode Island is small enough for one migration stream to reorder the statewide ranking: four Lusophone surnames, Silva, Medeiros, Costa, and Cabral, land in the top 20, and several more sit immediately behind them.

Top 20 Most Common Last Names in Rhode Island

Showing all 20 surnames

Tap a name to expand meaning

Smith english

5,087

1 in 207

Brown english

3,710

1 in 284

Johnson english

3,188

1 in 330

Silva portuguese

2,740

1 in 384

From Latin 'silva', forest or woodland. Silva's exceptional Rhode Island rank points to the state's Portuguese and Cape Verdean presence, especially in Providence's Fox Point and in East Providence waterfront communities linked to maritime work and later factory labor.

Medeiros portuguese

2,447

1 in 430

A Portuguese surname usually tied to meadows or common pastureland. Medeiros is far too high here to be explained by colonial New England alone; it reflects the same Lusophone migration stream that tied Rhode Island to Portuguese Atlantic communities through fishing, whaling, docks, and mill work.

Martin french

2,212

1 in 476

From Latin Martinus, meaning of Mars. In Rhode Island, Martin travels across several histories at once, including old English usage, Irish Catholic families, and the strong French-Canadian presence that later defined Woonsocket and the Blackstone Valley.

Sullivan irish

2,156

1 in 488

From Irish 'O Suileabhain', usually interpreted as descendant of Suileabhan. Sullivan ranks this high because 19th-century Irish immigration left a deep mark on Providence and other mill towns, where Irish parish and family networks stayed dense for generations.

Williams welsh

2,141

1 in 492

Son of William, from the Germanic Willahelm. Williams fits Rhode Island's colonial English and Welsh background, but it also reflects the long Black Rhode Island presence documented in the colony from the 17th century onward.

Anderson scandinavian

2,029

1 in 519

Son of Anders or Andrew, from Greek Andreas. Anderson rose in Rhode Island through both older Anglo-American use and later northern European industrial workers who entered the state's factory cities in the 19th century.

#10

Costa portuguese

2,019

1 in 521

From the Portuguese for coast or shore. Costa reads almost like a geographic summary of Rhode Island's Lusophone history, since many Portuguese and Cape Verdean families settled in shoreline and dockside neighborhoods tied to shipping, fishing, and related trades.

#11

Perry welsh

1,922

1 in 548

Usually from Welsh 'ap Herry' or from place-based English forms tied to pear trees or enclosed land. Perry has deep roots in southern New England and remained visible in Rhode Island's coastal towns long before newer immigrant surnames crowded the statewide list.

#12

Rodriguez spanish

1,852

1 in 568

Son of Rodrigo, from a Germanic personal name meaning famous ruler. Rodriguez rose into Rhode Island's top tier through later Hispanic migration into Providence County cities, adding a newer layer to a list still dominated by colonial and 19th-century names.

#13

Cabral portuguese

1,672

1 in 630

A Portuguese surname associated with goats or rough upland ground. Cabral is one of Rhode Island's clearest Lusophone markers, carried by Portuguese and Cape Verdean families whose communities remained rooted in Providence-area neighborhoods across multiple generations.

#14

Davis welsh

1,665

1 in 632

Son of David, from Hebrew Dawid, meaning beloved. Davis is another long-running New England surname that held its place in Rhode Island from the colonial period through the rise of Providence as the state's industrial and civic center.

#15

Murphy irish

1,643

1 in 641

From Irish 'O Murchadha', descendant of Murchadh, often glossed as sea warrior. Murphy's strength in Rhode Island reflects the same Irish migration pattern that elevated Sullivan, especially in Providence and the state's older mill communities.

#16

Santos portuguese

1,635

1 in 644

From Portuguese and Spanish 'santos', saints. In Rhode Island, Santos is another sign of the state's unusually dense Portuguese and Cape Verdean population, with the surname sustained by family networks tied to parish life, waterfront work, and urban neighborhoods.

#17

Miller english

1,537

1 in 685

An occupational surname for a miller. Miller fits Rhode Island unusually well because the state that launched the American Industrial Revolution in Pawtucket also spent generations organized around waterpower, mills, and textile production.

#18

Ferreira portuguese

1,492

1 in 705

A Portuguese surname often linked to ironworks or ferraria place names. Ferreira's Rhode Island showing reflects 20th-century Portuguese migration into Blackstone Valley and Providence-area communities, including families who built institutions strong enough to keep the name highly visible statewide.

#19

Garcia spanish

1,466

1 in 718

A very old Iberian surname, often linked to Basque origins. Garcia's place in Rhode Island's top 20 marks the state's modern Hispanic growth, especially in the same urban corridor where older Irish and Portuguese communities had already settled.

#20

Jones welsh

1,431

1 in 735

A Welsh form meaning son of John. Jones has been common across southern New England since the colonial era, and in Rhode Island it represents the older English-Welsh layer that still underlies the state's later immigrant surname mix.

Local Insight

Uniquely Rhode Island

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

Silva portuguese

Ranked #4 in Rhode Island versus #232 nationally. That is 228 spots higher here.

Silva ranks fourth in Rhode Island while sitting much lower nationally, which makes it the clearest statewide Lusophone outlier. That pattern matches the long Portuguese and Cape Verdean presence in Providence and East Providence, where waterfront and working-class neighborhoods preserved family names generation after generation.

Medeiros portuguese

Ranked #5 in Rhode Island versus #2024 nationally. That is 2019 spots higher here.

Medeiros is rare in most of the United States but reaches Rhode Island's top five. Its rise reflects the state's Atlantic links to Portuguese-speaking migration networks rather than the older colonial surname pool that dominates most New England lists.

Costa portuguese

Ranked #10 in Rhode Island versus #882 nationally. That is 872 spots higher here.

Costa is visible nationally, but Rhode Island lifts it far higher than the country as a whole. The name benefited from the same shoreline and urban Lusophone settlement patterns that made Providence-area Portuguese communities unusually durable.

Cabral portuguese

Ranked #13 in Rhode Island versus #1956 nationally. That is 1943 spots higher here.

Cabral is another surname that Rhode Island pushes dramatically upward relative to the national list. Portuguese and Cape Verdean households in the Providence area kept the name concentrated enough to turn it into a statewide signature.

Ferreira portuguese

Ranked #18 in Rhode Island versus #1462 nationally. That is 1444 spots higher here.

Ferreira reaches Rhode Island's top 20 because Portuguese migration did not remain limited to one neighborhood or one decade. The surname stayed visible in Blackstone Valley and Providence-area communities that built clubs, churches, and family networks strong enough to reproduce the name locally.

Etymology

Rhode Island Last Name Meanings: Occupational, Patronymic & Habitational

Colonial English and Welsh Names

Smith, Brown, Johnson, Williams, Perry, Davis, Miller, and Jones reflect the older surname base laid down in colonial Rhode Island and reinforced by centuries of local continuity. Even after industrialization brought new migration streams, these names stayed near the top because they were already spread across Providence, Newport, and the inland towns.

Smith (metalworker) Brown (brown-haired or brown-clad) Williams (son of William) Jones (son of John, Welsh)

Portuguese and Cape Verdean Names

Silva, Medeiros, Costa, Cabral, Santos, and Ferreira give Rhode Island one of the most Lusophone surname profiles in the country. That cluster reflects generations of Portuguese and Cape Verdean settlement in Providence and East Providence, plus related working-class communities tied to maritime trades, docks, and mills.

Silva (forest or woodland) Costa (coast or shore) Cabral (Portuguese place-based surname) Ferreira (ironworks or ferraria place name)

Irish and Mill-Town Patronymics

Sullivan and Murphy are the clearest Irish signals in Rhode Island's top 20, and Martin often overlaps with the same Catholic urban world. Their strength reflects 19th-century migration into Providence and factory towns, then the family and parish networks that kept Irish surnames visible long after the first immigrant generation.

Sullivan (descendant of Suileabhan) Murphy (descendant of Murchadh) Martin (from Martinus) Rodriguez (son of Rodrigo)

Quick Answers

What are the most common last names in Rhode Island?

The most common last names in Rhode Island are Smith, Brown, Johnson, Silva, and Medeiros. What makes Rhode Island unusual is how quickly Portuguese surnames enter the top 20 compared with most other New England states.

Why are Portuguese last names so common in Rhode Island?

Portuguese last names are so common in Rhode Island because the state developed long-lasting Portuguese and Cape Verdean communities tied to waterfront work, mills, and urban neighborhoods in and around Providence and East Providence. That history pushed surnames like Silva, Medeiros, Costa, Cabral, Santos, and Ferreira far higher than their national rankings.

Sources

Forebears - Most Common Surnames in Rhode Island — Primary source for Rhode Island surname counts, state ranks, national rank comparisons, and incidence figures
U.S. Census Bureau - QuickFacts: Rhode Island — 2010 Rhode Island population used to calculate statewide surname ratios
Rhode Island Department of State - Industrialization and Immigration — State history overview on Pawtucket's 1790 industrial start, mill growth, and immigration-driven political change
Museum of Work & Culture - Rhode Island Historical Society — Background on Blackstone Valley immigration and the fact that 70% of Woonsocket's population was French or French Canadian in 1920
Rhode Island Department of State - Black Rhode Islanders — State history source on Rhode Island's Black population from the 17th century through the Revolution and Civil War
Cape Verdean Museum - Rhode Island Historical Society — Rhode Island Historical Society reference on Cape Verdean history, including communities in Fox Point and East Providence

Information is cross-referenced with official state archives.

#1 Surname: Smith
People named #1: 5,087
1 in every: 207 residents
Top origin: Portuguese
State population: 1,052,567
Census year: 2010

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Most Common Last Names in Rhode Island

Colonial Names, Mill Labor, and the Lusophone Shore

Top 20 Most Common Last Names in Rhode Island

Uniquely Rhode Island