Do you have relatives in Australia? One way to trace your relatives is by looking for a surname that you both have in common. If your ancestor has one of the top ten most common surnames in Australia, there is potential that your family tree has branches that connect to Australia.
The ten most popular surnames in Australia have some commonalities with the most popular surnames in other English speaking countries. There are also some significant differences. A few of the names on this list do not appear on the lists of most common surnames in the United States, or the United Kingdom. And, of course, the meaning behind the surname might change slightly for each country.
The most common surname in Australia is Smith, a name popular in both the United States as well as the United Kingdom. This name refers to the occupation of blacksmith. A blacksmith is someone who works with metal, to form it into armor, weapons, and other useful items. Number 2 is Jones, a patronymic name that comes from “son of John”. Number 3 is Williams, which is another patronymic name. Williams comes from “son of William”. Number 4 is Brown. This name derives from the name “Brun”, and was used to refer to a person with brown hair, a brown complexion, or who wore brown clothing. Number 5 is Wilson, which means “son of William”, just as the surname Williams does. Number 6 is Taylor. This is another name that refers to an job, or occupation. A tailor is someone who cuts cloth, and sews it into clothing. So far, none of these names are too much of a surprise, especially if you are familiar with what the most common surnames are for the United States, and for the United Kingdom.
The seventh most common surname in Australia is Nguyen. The name Nguyen has Chinese origin, and may refer to a musical instrument called a ruan, which is played by plucking the strings on the instrument to make a sound. Nguyen is the most common surname of Vietnamese families, throughout the world, not just in Australia. This surname doesn’t appear on the lists of top ten most common surnames for the United States, or for the United Kingdom.
Number 8 is Johnson, which means “son of John”, just like the surname Jones does. Jones is also a very common surname in both the UK and the U.S.. Number 9 is Martin. Martin does not appear in the top ten list of surnames for either the U.S. or the UK. Martin comes from the Latin name Martinus, which refers to Mars, the Roman god of both war and fertility. Number 10 is the surname White, which also did not make the top ten list for the U.S. or the UK. White refers to a person with light hair or complexion. It comes from the Anglo-Saxon word “whit” which means “valiant”.
Image by Vibracobra23 on Flickr