Distinctly British-American surnames

**Creoda** · 12-10-2020, 11:39 PM

Oftentimes when I was searching for Gedmatch kits in the past I could tell when someone was likely American simply by their surname, as certain Anglo names are far more common in the US (often in the South) than back in Britain, where they're virtually unheard of. Obviously it's much easier to distinguish Americans by their given names, but IMO there are certain surnames that could be considered almost distinctly American at this point, and also some that are fairly distinctly British, and much less common in America - usually Northern English names in my experience.

What are some examples?

**Daco Celtic** · 12-10-2020, 11:57 PM

Just some random ones I can think of for neighbors, classmates, teachers, etc. in my hometown. I have no idea how common these are compared to the British Isles.

Bradford
Branton
Brooks
Brown
Carr
Gill
Johnson
Jones
Hamilton
Harrington
Lawry
Lawrence
Montgomery
Smith
Wilson
Williams
Woods

**Creoda** · 12-11-2020, 12:05 AM

Originally Posted by Daco Celtic

Just some random ones I can think of for neighbors, classmates, teachers, etc. in my hometown. I have no idea how common these are compared to the British Isles.

Bradford
Branton
Brooks
Brown
Carr
Gill
Johnson
Jones
Hamilton
Lawry
Lawrence
Montgomery
Smith
Wilson
Williams
Woods

Branton and Brooks are good examples I think, don't recall seeing a Branton in the UK and Brooks is the sort of name that sounds common in the US but not in Britain.

**Daco Celtic** · 12-11-2020, 01:21 AM

Originally Posted by Creoda

Branton and Brooks are good examples I think, don't recall seeing a Branton in the UK and Brooks is the sort of name that sounds common in the US but not in Britain.

Branton strikes me as particularly British. It has a prim feel like Harrington or Farrington. The three most common names I've heard over the years are 1) Brown 2) Williams 3) Smith but maybe that is the same throughout the anglosphere. Roberts is another common name I forgot to mention.

**Creoda** · 12-11-2020, 01:45 AM

Examples of English names I wouldn't expect to be American, most are quite Northern.

Spoiler!

Burnett would be an example of a very American, Southron name I'd say.

**Creoda** · 12-11-2020, 03:03 AM

When I first heard of Neil Gorsuch I was surprised the name was English, I'd never heard it before. Same for Biden.

Gorsuch surname prevalence/ranking

United States 4,103 / 9,957
England 113 / 31,588
Australia 74 / 30,412
Canada 16 / 139,666

**Creoda** · 12-11-2020, 11:47 PM

Romney and Bush are unsurprisingly much more common in the US.

Romney prevalence/ranking
United States 2,500 / 14,984
England 209 / 21,098

Bush prevalence/ranking
United States 110,404 / 337
England 11,613 / 658
Australia 5,663 / 692

Other American political names:

Jefferson - much more common in the US
Carter - more common in the US
Coolidge - never heard this name in the UK
Taft - never heard this name in the UK

Richmondbread's name Skelton sounds American, and Parker also seems like a name more common in the US.

**PostOak1** · 12-12-2020, 12:55 AM

Originally Posted by Daco Celtic

Just some random ones I can think of for neighbors, classmates, teachers, etc. in my hometown. I have no idea how common these are compared to the British Isles.

Bradford
Branton
Brooks
Brown
Carr
Gill
Johnson
Jones
Hamilton
Harrington
Lawry
Lawrence
Montgomery
Smith
Wilson
Williams
Woods

You must be in the South too

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**PostOak1** · 12-12-2020, 01:08 AM

What is not often known is that a lot of the “British” names in The South are Anglicized names of Gaelic Irish POW indentured servants, German settlers, French Huguenot refugees that are spelled phonetically. There are English names in The South that are from families now extinct in England. There was a lot “clearing” and “cleansing” in Britain during the 1600 and 1700’s in where the “cleared and cleansed” ended up in America.

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**Davystayn** · 12-12-2020, 01:17 AM

Originally Posted by Daco Celtic

Branton strikes me as particularly British. It has a prim feel like Harrington or Farrington. The three most common names I've heard over the years are 1) Brown 2) Williams 3) Smith but maybe that is the same throughout the anglosphere. Roberts is another common name I forgot to mention.

I haven't come across a Branton here, but it could be a surname I agree, never met a Romney or a Bush either, Roberts is a common Welsh surname, as is Phillips, Jones, Pugh, Williams