# Where does your last name rank? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 27, 2003, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-your-last-name-rank/215584 "2003-11-27T16:10:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2003, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-your-last-name-rank/215584/21 "2003-11-27T16:45:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Armilla \* > **I just spent five minutes searching it for rude words and wondering why people _keep_ those names.** I don’t know how the census works in the US, but do you suppose some people wrote fake names on their forms? > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Mycroft Holmes_ > \*\* “Nguyen” seems to be by far the highest ranked Asian name. Much higher than any of the Chinese surnames.\*\* I bet many of the _Lee_’s are Asian. My last name is 7479 - pretty high for a Japanese name. [hijack]How do you make Opera start a new search from the top? When I just do Ctrl-F it seems to start from the “current” position (i.e. result of the last search).[/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Zero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@Saint\_Zero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Zero)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2003, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-your-last-name-rank/215584/22 "2003-11-27T16:46:00Z")
Last Name around 400, First Name in top Five! [sub]no one can get ahead of me! Mwahahahah![/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Rico](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rico/32/3582_2.png) [@Rico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rico)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2003, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-your-last-name-rank/215584/23 "2003-11-27T16:51:32Z")
First name in the top 10. Last name in the 5100-5200 range. However - my MIDDLE name is in the 1500 range. My middle name was my great grandmother’s maiden name, which has been turned into a family tradition middle name. My wife’s maiden name is in the low 400s, her first name is in the 70s. ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2003, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-your-last-name-rank/215584/24 "2003-11-27T16:52:04Z")
**Mycroft Holmes** , I’m 329 as well. I didn’t know there were that many of us. Huh. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2003, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-your-last-name-rank/215584/25 "2003-11-27T16:53:29Z")
I can’t even find our last name. ---
**Author:** ![Mycroft\_Holmes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a5b964/32.png) [@Mycroft\_Holmes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mycroft_Holmes)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2003, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-your-last-name-rank/215584/26 "2003-11-27T16:57:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by whiterabbit \* > \*\ ***Mycroft Holmes** , I’m 329 as well. I didn’t know there were that many of us. Huh. \*\* The English word that corresponds to our last name is actually ranked tenth. I guess there must have been a real shortage of clothing sometime in the past to actually have accounted for so many "Taylors, “Snijders” and “Schneiders” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2003, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-your-last-name-rank/215584/27 "2003-11-27T16:58:13Z")
The methodology looks a little suspect to me. They are obviously ranking names that are equivelent in popularity and throwinging a rank in arbitrarily.(Unless by some huge coincidence the most popular names from rank 75677 to 88799 happen to fall in alphebetical order :)) It really should be in ranking groups toward the bottom of the list. ---
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2003, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-your-last-name-rank/215584/28 "2003-11-27T17:02:35Z")
I have the 82nd most popular first name in America, but my last name is only the 9843rd most popluar last name. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2003, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-your-last-name-rank/215584/29 "2003-11-27T17:04:00Z")
Neither of the names in my hyphenated surname are listed. Can’t say I’m surprised. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2003, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-your-last-name-rank/215584/30 "2003-11-27T17:07:11Z")
My last name is not listed. ---
**Author:** ![DaisyFace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/848f3c/32.png) [@DaisyFace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaisyFace)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2003, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-your-last-name-rank/215584/31 "2003-11-27T17:09:39Z")
My married name is in the mid 52500s. My maiden name didn’t even rank. As far as first names go, my given name is #1 (yay me!) but the name everyone calls me (not what you’re thinking) is in the 1241s. So I am more unique than originally thought! Hubby is #20 even. ---
**Author:** ![Stainz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Stainz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stainz)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2003, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-your-last-name-rank/215584/32 "2003-11-27T17:09:48Z")
First name is # 11, which is no surprise … I know a LOT of girls/women who share my first name. Last name is in the low 6000s … middle name is # 44 … shocker! BF’s first name is in Top 5, last name is in low 100s … Interesting … thanks Zev! (I’m Canadian though … it’d be interesting to see a Canadian version of the same information). ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2003, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-your-last-name-rank/215584/33 "2003-11-27T17:14:55Z")
Last name is, surprisingly, 5650, much higher than I would have thought. Even more of a surprise: my wife’s maiden name is only 2718 – I never would have guessed it was more common than mine. However, I’m not surprised my mother’s maiden name doesn’t make the list. AFAIK, it’s unique to her family and relatives, though I have seen it crop up in other countries. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2003, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-your-last-name-rank/215584/34 "2003-11-27T17:15:47Z")
How do you search the list? Haj ---
**Author:** ![DAVEW0071](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e19b73/32.png) [@DAVEW0071](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DAVEW0071)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2003, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-your-last-name-rank/215584/35 "2003-11-27T17:17:17Z")
Midway in the 600s. 'Cause I’m a WASP. 😉 (And no, I wasn’t looking for the surname “Woo”!) ---
**Author:** ![DAVEW0071](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e19b73/32.png) [@DAVEW0071](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DAVEW0071)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2003, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-your-last-name-rank/215584/36 "2003-11-27T17:21:29Z")
Oh, and “David” is a perennial favorite male first name. Sixth on the list. ---
**Author:** ![AbbySthrnAccent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb9ed0/32.png) [@AbbySthrnAccent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AbbySthrnAccent)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2003, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-your-last-name-rank/215584/37 "2003-11-27T17:21:33Z")
First top 30 Nick 700’s Middle 200’s Maiden 300’s Last 700’s ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2003, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-your-last-name-rank/215584/38 "2003-11-27T17:22:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by hajario \* > \*\*How do you search the list? > > Haj \*\* Never mind. I figured it out. Saved it as a .txt file and searched. My last name doesn’t make the list. Not too suprising. There are only a couple dozen of us on Earth. Haj ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2003, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-your-last-name-rank/215584/39 "2003-11-27T17:29:41Z")
My goodness! I would have lost serious money on any bet about how popular my surname is. It’s way, way more popular than I would ever have imagined based on many 3174 people I’ve run into over the years. It’s so high up in fact, relative to names I just know are more popular, that it leads me to question the credibility of this list. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2003, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-your-last-name-rank/215584/40 "2003-11-27T17:33:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by hajario \* > \*\*How do you search the list? > > Haj \*\* Edit \> Find in the Windows Internet Explorer toolbar at the top of the page will zero in on it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-your-last-name-rank/215584.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-your-last-name-rank/215584.md?page=3)