Statistical Insights

Smith’s fifth straight century on top, Garcia at number six, and a surname table that finally includes 2020 — how the Census Bureau’s surname data works, what it says, and what it can (and cannot) tell your family history research For surname researchers, the U.S. Census Bureau quietly maintains the most complete surname-frequency dataset in […]

Every surname article quotes a ranking — here is how to judge one, map one, and turn both into family-history progress Sooner or later, every surname researcher meets the numbers. You have decoded the name (our guides to Occupational Surnames and Patronymic and Matronymic Surnames Explained will have helped); now you find a table announcing […]