Almost everyone living here in Michigan has roots somewhere else in the world.  And those roots will often time determine your last name.

Ancestry.com put together a list of the most common last names (surnames) in every state in the country and the results are kinda cool.  Almost every state, including Michigan, share some or all of the most popular last names in the country.  Those most common of last names are "Smith, Johnson, Williams, and Anderson".

Michigan's top 3 most common last names are Smith, Johnson, and Williams.  Illinois and a few other Midwestern states also claim those names as the most common in their states.  It's pretty cool when you look at the map and start to notice a few patterns.

Garcia is very common in the Southwest, the Midwest sees Smith and Johnson very frequently, Brown is common in the Northeast, and Hawaii is just in a league of its own.

Most states are pretty similar, but a few have some unique names.  They are California with Garcia, Hernandez, and Lopez, Hawaii with Lee, Wong, and Kim, and New Mexico with Martinez, Garcia, and Chavez.

We do have unique last names in West Michigan due to a lot of people having Dutch, Polish and other European heritage.  But they aren't as common as the 'American last names' that you commonly see across the country.  You can check out a list of some of the most common Dutch surnames here.

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