What's in a name? Britain's most common surnames have been revealed

What’s in a name?

Well, we’re a little bit closer to find out – after the University of the West of England revealed the results of a four year project that investigated the history and geographical distribution of 8,000 surnames.

Incredibly, 80 percent of the surnames studied had their native roots in Britain and Ireland – with researchers analysing sources that dated from the 11th century to fully explore the origins of the names.

Unsurprisingly, Smith and Jones topped the list of surnames – with 500,000 and 400,000 respective bearers living in the UK today.

The study also confirmed previously held beliefs about how surnames were often occupational – with prime examples being Smith and Baker.

But the study also took into account some of the lesser heard names too, with Farah, the surname of Olympic champion Mo, being first recorded in Middlesex in 1881.

Britain’s most common surnames

• Smith (more than 500,000 bearers today)

• Jones (400,000)

• Williams (300,000)

• Brown and Taylor (More than 250,000)

• Johnson (More than 150,000)

• Lee (Nearly 84,000)

However, it’s thought that this is derived from the northern pronunciation as ‘Farrer’, meaning blacksmith or Iron worker – as opposed to its roots in Arabic culture, where it means ‘joy, happiness and delight’.

Other findings included the roots of Patel, one of the most common Asian surnames in Britain – with the study discovering that it was a ‘status name’ from the Hindu and Parsi name for a village herdsman.

It’s a fascinating insight into our history, and you can find out more here.