Smith. In the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, Smith prevails consistently.
Singh was the most common surname in New Zealand last year, following on from its record in 2020. Smith falls into second place, with Kaur – historically the feminine counterpart to Singh in Sikh communities – third and Williams fourth.
Smith – the most popular surname in the UK. The most common surname in Scotland and the UK as a whole, Smith originated from the Middle English period. 546,960 UK nationals have it. It started out as an occupational name for someone who worked with metal, such as a Blacksmith.
More than 106 million people have the surname Wang, a Mandarin term for prince or king. It's not too surprising that the top surname is Chinese, as China has the world's largest population. As of 2022, it was home to 1.45 billion people, or 18.5 percent of the world's total.
Iceland is a country that values tradition and customs and has a strong sense of family. But it also means there's no family lineage carried down through a single surname. You would imagine Iceland's naming system would make it difficult to trace a family tree.
The oldest English surname on record was actually from East Anglia. Believe it or not, the oldest recorded English name is Hatt. An Anglo-Saxon family with the surname Hatt are mentioned in a Norman transcript, and is identified as a pretty regular name in the county.
The Royal Family name of Windsor was confirmed by The Queen after her accession in 1952.
Australian names are traditionally patrilineal, whereby children are given their father's family name. However, this is not an enforced custom. Some parents may choose to give their children a hyphenated surname that contains the family name of both parents (e.g. Jack Samuel WILSON-ADAMS).
Many Aboriginal people were known by a single or common first name and no surname – for example, Nellie, Jenny and Lizzy for women, and Bobby, Jimmy and Charlie for men. Surnames were often assigned by European employers and Aboriginal people were sometimes given their employer's surname.
The most common New Zealand family names have a British origin, e.g. SMITH, WILLIAMS, JONES, BROWN, TAYLOR. Other family names reflect the broad cultural, linguistic and geographic diversity of New Zealand families. For example, Nita KUMAR (Indian), Ashley MURPHY (Irish), Dylan WANG (Chinese).
Aotearoa is the Maori name for New Zealand, though it seems at first to have been used for the North Island only.
New Zealand – Land of the Long White Cloud/Middle Earth
The Kiwis across the ditch have picked up not just one, but two nicknames. The Land of the Long White Cloud is the most common translation of Aotearoa – the Maori name for New Zealand.
The family name was changed as a result of anti-German sentiment during the First World War, with Windsor chosen after the castle of the same name. The royal family name of Windsor was confirmed by Queen Elizabeth II after her accession in 1952.
So the best way to find out if you have royal ancestry is simply to do your research well. To be more specific: Research all your family surnames carefully. If you find records indicating where your ancestors lived, look up those residences and see if they are associated with royalty.
When used by Queens, the "R" stands for "Regina," or "Queen" in Latin. During her historic reign, Queen Elizabeth would sign official communications as "Elizabeth R."
There is a list of names that are extinct. It includes Bread, Spinster, Chips, Rummage, Pussett, Temples, Wellbelove, Hatman and Bytheseashore. Know anyone with those names – hardly. Other names with just a few individuals include Fernsby, Rushlands, Berrycloth, Dankworth, Birdwhistle, Relish and Tumbler.
Quinn. This short-and-sweet Irish surname means "intelligent," and has become popular for both boys and girls.