America's Most Common Last Names By State

An analysis of nationwide phone book listings has come up with the most common last name in each US state.

Ancestry.com used records from the white pages to determine which names are most prevalent in each state, and discovered some fascinating regional trends.

The genealogy website found that Smith is by far the most common last name in the US, ranking first across 40 states and within the top three for another five states.

The name Smith harkens back to the ancient Anglo-Saxon and medieval English periods.

Other popular names that made it onto the map include Johnson, Williams, Lee, Garcia and Martinez.

And the Southwest has the more last-name variety than any other US region.

States with large Latino populations, like Texas, California, New Mexico, and Arizona commonly have families with last names like Garcia, Hernandez, Martinez and Chavez.