Black Last Names
Most Black Americans carry surnames of English, Scottish or Irish origin — Williams, Johnson, Jackson, Washington. That isn’t an accident. During slavery, enslaved people were often recorded under an enslaver’s surname or none at all, and after emancipation millions of freedpeople chose their own last names, frequently picking ones tied to freedom, respected figures or their own family history.
This page walks through more than 90 surnames: the most common among Black Americans, names that are especially associated with Black families, African surnames used across the continent and the diaspora, Caribbean names, and names chosen by famous figures. For first names, see Black boy names and Black girl names; for broader background, visit our Black names hub and African last names.
Most common last names among Black Americans
These surnames appear most often among Black Americans in US Census surname data. Most are also common among white Americans — they reflect the English-speaking South where many families were enslaved. For a cross-population list, see most common last names.
| Surname | Meaning / origin | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Williams | Son of William, “resolute protection” | Often cited as the most common surname among Black Americans |
| Johnson | Son of John, “God is gracious” | Top-three among Black Americans |
| Smith | Metalworker, blacksmith | Most common US surname overall |
| Jones | Son of John (Welsh form) | Welsh patronymic, very common in the South |
| Brown | Brown-haired or brown-complexioned (Old English brūn) | A nickname surname |
| Jackson | Son of Jack | Over half of US bearers are Black |
| Davis | Son of David, “beloved” | Welsh patronymic |
| Thomas | From the given name Thomas, “twin” | Also common as a first name |
| Harris | Son of Harry (Henry, “home ruler”) | Top-ten among Black Americans |
| Robinson | Son of Robin (Robert, “bright fame”) | Very common in the Carolinas |
| Taylor | Tailor (Old French tailleur) | Occupational name |
| Wilson | Son of Will | Patronymic |
| Moore | Lived near a moor; or “dark-complexioned” | Two unrelated origins |
| White | Fair-haired or pale | Nickname surname |
| Lewis | From Louis, “famous warrior” | Also Welsh, from Llywelyn |
| Walker | A fuller who trod wet cloth | Occupational name |
| Green | Lived by the village green | Topographic name |
| Thompson | Son of Thom | Patronymic |
| Anderson | Son of Andrew, “manly” | Scottish and Scandinavian roots |
| Scott | A Scot or Gaelic speaker | Ethnic name |
| Carter | Cart driver or maker | Occupational name |
| Wright | Craftsman, maker (as in wheelwright) | Occupational name |
| Mitchell | From Michael, “who is like God?” | Patronymic |
| Hill | Lived on or by a hill | Topographic name |
| Allen | Possibly Breton, “little rock” | From a given name |
| Turner | Worked a lathe | Occupational name |
| Edwards | Son of Edward, “wealthy guardian” | Patronymic |
| Bell | Bell ringer; or from Old French belle, “handsome” | Scottish Borders origin |
Surnames especially associated with Black families
In these surnames, Black Americans make up a majority or an unusually large share of bearers in Census data — often because freedpeople chose them after the Civil War. Presidents’ names and words for liberty were popular choices.
| Surname | Meaning / origin | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Washington | After George Washington; originally an English place name | Around 9 in 10 US bearers are Black |
| Jefferson | Son of Geoffrey | Most bearers are Black; a presidential choice after emancipation |
| Booker | Maker of books, scribe | Mostly Black bearers; Booker T. Washington |
| Banks | Lived by a slope or riverbank | More than half of bearers are Black |
| Mosley | From Moseley, “mossy clearing” | Majority Black in the US |
| Freeman | A free-born person | Chosen by many freedpeople |
| Gaines | Possibly Old French engaigne, “ingenuity” | Common across the South |
| Dorsey | Norman D’Arcy, or Irish Ó Dorchaidhe, “dark” | Deep roots in Maryland |
| Rivers | Lived by a river | Majority Black in the US |
| Singleton | From Singleton, Lancashire, “shingled farmstead” | Common in South Carolina |
| Hairston | Scottish, from Hairstanes, “grey stones” | Tens of thousands descend from the Hairston plantations of Virginia and North Carolina |
| Glover | Maker or seller of gloves | Occupational name |
| Battle | From Battle, Sussex, site of the 1066 battle | Most US bearers are Black |
| Coleman | Charcoal burner; or follower of St. Columba | Common in Georgia and Alabama |
| Tolliver | From Italian Tagliaferro, “iron cutter,” via Taliaferro | A colonial Virginia family name |
| Merriweather | Pleasant weather; a nickname for a cheerful person | Southern name |
African surnames in America
Many African immigrants and their children keep family names from their home countries, and some African Americans adopt them to reconnect with ancestry. Read more on our Nigerian last names and African names pages.
| Surname | Meaning | People / country |
|---|---|---|
| Okafor | Born on Afọ market day | Igbo, Nigeria |
| Okonkwo | Born on Nkwọ market day | Igbo, Nigeria |
| Adeyemi | The crown suits me | Yoruba, Nigeria |
| Balogun | War leader, general | Yoruba, Nigeria |
| Obi | Heart | Igbo, Nigeria |
| Mensah | Third-born son | Akan / Ewe, Ghana |
| Asante | From the Asante people and kingdom | Akan, Ghana |
| Diallo | One of the major Fula (Peul) clan names | Guinea, Senegal, Mali |
| Traoré | Mande clan name | Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso |
| Keita | Royal clan of Sundiata Keita, founder of the Mali Empire | Mali, Guinea |
| Kamara | Widespread Mande clan name | Sierra Leone, Guinea |
| Ndiaye | Prominent Wolof family name | Senegal |
| Mwangi | A common Kikuyu name; among Kenya’s most frequent surnames | Kenya |
| Kenyatta | From kinyata, a beaded Maasai belt | Kenya |
| Tesfaye | My hope (a father’s given name used as surname) | Amharic, Ethiopia |
| Nkosi | Lord, king | Zulu, South Africa |
| Mandela | Xhosa family name from Nelson Mandela’s grandfather | South Africa |
Caribbean surnames
Black families with roots in Haiti, Jamaica, Trinidad and the wider Caribbean brought French, Scottish and English surnames shaped by different colonial histories. Haitian names often come from French saints’ names.
| Surname | Meaning / origin | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Pierre | From Peter, “rock” | Very common in Haiti |
| Jean-Baptiste | John the Baptist | Haitian compound surname |
| Toussaint | All Saints’ Day | Toussaint Louverture, leader of the Haitian Revolution |
| Etienne | French form of Stephen, “crown” | Haiti, Louisiana |
| Desir | Desire, longing | Haiti |
| Joseph | God will add | Common across the French Caribbean |
| Charles | Free man | Haiti and the Eastern Caribbean |
| Louis | Famous warrior | Haiti |
| Augustin | Venerable | Haiti, St. Lucia |
| Campbell | Crooked mouth (Gaelic) | Among the most common surnames in Jamaica |
| McKenzie | Son of Coinneach, “handsome” | Jamaica |
| Gordon | Scottish place name | Jamaica |
| Reid | Red-haired | Jamaica |
| Clarke | Clerk, scribe | Barbados, Jamaica |
| Grant | Tall, great (French grand) | Jamaica |
| Francis | Frenchman, free | Trinidad, Grenada |
Surnames chosen by famous Black Americans
Some of the most famous Black surnames were chosen deliberately — to escape an enslaver’s name, to honor a spouse, or to reject a “slave name” altogether.
| Surname | Meaning / origin | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Douglass | Dark water (Gaelic dubh glas) | Frederick Douglass took it from Scott’s <em>The Lady of the Lake</em> |
| Truth | Truth | Sojourner Truth chose it in 1843 |
| Tubman | Tub maker | Harriet Tubman kept her first husband’s surname |
| Du Bois | Of the woods (French) | W. E. B. Du Bois, from his Huguenot ancestry |
| Carver | Wood carver | George Washington Carver |
| Parks | Keeper of a park | Rosa Parks |
| Baldwin | Bold friend | James Baldwin |
| Hughes | Son of Hugh, “heart, mind” | Langston Hughes |
| Ellington | From Ellington, “Ella’s farm” | Duke Ellington |
| Angelou | Coined from her husband’s surname Angelos | Maya Angelou |
| King | Ruler; or one who played a king in a pageant | Martin Luther King Jr. |
| Shabazz | From the “Tribe of Shabazz” in Nation of Islam teaching | Betty Shabazz and the family of Malcolm X |
| X | Stands for an unknown African family name | Nation of Islam practice, Malcolm X |
| Muhammad | Praised | Adopted by many Black Muslims |
| Ali | High, exalted | Muhammad Ali |
| Abdullah | Servant of God | Arabic surname used by Black Muslims |
How to research a Black family surname
- Start with the 1870 census. It was the first US census to list formerly enslaved people by full name, so it’s the key “brick wall” record for Black genealogy.
- Don’t assume the surname points to an enslaver. Many freedpeople chose names independently, kept names they’d used privately, or took the name of an earlier enslaver or relative.
- Check Freedmen’s Bureau records. Labor contracts, marriage records and bank accounts from 1865–1872 often record family names and relationships.
- Use DNA carefully. Autosomal DNA tests can connect you with distant cousins who share a surname, and sometimes point to regions of Africa.
- Look at regional patterns. Surnames like Hairston, Dorsey or Singleton cluster in specific states — a clue to where a family lived before the Great Migration.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most common Black last name?
Williams is generally the most common surname among Black Americans in US Census data, followed closely by Johnson, Smith, Jones and Brown.
Why do many Black Americans have English surnames?
Enslaved people in the English-speaking colonies were recorded under English naming customs. After emancipation, freedpeople chose surnames, often common English ones or names of admired figures like Washington and Jefferson.
Which last names are mostly held by Black Americans?
In Census data, a majority of people named Washington, Jefferson, Booker, Banks, Mosley, Battle and Rivers are Black. Washington has the highest share, around 9 in 10.
Why did Malcolm X use “X” as a last name?
In the Nation of Islam, “X” replaced a surname seen as imposed during slavery; it represents the unknown African family name that was lost.
Are African surnames becoming more common in the US?
Yes. Immigration from Nigeria, Ghana, Ethiopia, Kenya and other countries has made surnames like Okafor, Mensah and Tesfaye increasingly familiar in the US.