The 25 Most Common Surnames in Michigan

What's in a name is an old saying, but it's likely more relevant to your surname, or your last name.

Most surnames are born out of centuries-old professions. For example, it's rather common knowledge that the last name Smith comes from families of blacksmiths and the like from way back in the day.

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There are many names that are much more common than others, but their popularity fluctuates from state to state. You may live in one part of the country and never encounter a particular surname and move to another place and see it more frequently than ever.

As for myself, my surname, Harrison, is fairly popular overall as the 120th most common last name in America. However, it's much more common in Alabama, the state I'm from, at the 87th most popular than it is here in Michigan at the 117th most common.

Doing some digging on my surname on Forebears.com, I didn't learn much about my last name that I didn't already know. Harrison is of English origins and is an ancestral surname, meaning "son of Harry" - which in itself is the English representation of the French name Henry.

Being that many names are interpretations or mispronunciations of names in other languages over time, my last name could have been wildly different under the right circumstances. Harrisson, Haarrison, Harreison, Harrision, and Charrison are all phonetically similar spellings in English-speaking countries.

Maybe you can find new information on your last name on the website here.

The site also ranks the popularity of each last name by country and state. So, below is the top 25 most common last names in the state of Michigan.