Home /Last Names /African American Last Names

African American Last Names

Freeman is a receipt. It documents the day a family stopped being property and became a legal family. This table holds 100 African American last names. Each row names its root system and its receipt: a census table, a Bureau record, an autobiography, a standard biography. The origin system here is an event, and the event is documented.

Prefer the tool? Open them in the generator. Every name comes with a receipt.

What are african american last names?

100 surnames, five banks, one rule: the receipt names its source.The first bank carries the frequency layer, cited to the US Census surname tables. The second carries the chosen names of emancipation, each story sourced. The third carries the presidential pattern, documented as a pattern, with no family-specific claims. The fourth carries attested historical families. The fifth carries the root systems, cited to their origin pages. Nothing on this page is guessed.

Grouped by receipt layer. The receipt column stays on every row.
NameRoot systemReceiptMeaning
The census top: the frequency layer, receipts from the US Census surname tables
SmithEnglish tradeUS Census surname tables, 2000 and 2010metalworker; the most frequent surname in the census tables
JohnsonEnglish patronymicUS Census surname tablesson of John, God is gracious
WilliamsEnglish patronymicUS Census surname tablesof William’s line, resolute guardian
BrownEnglish nicknameUS Census surname tablesbrown-haired, brown-complexioned
JonesWelsh patronymicUS Census surname tablesof John’s line, the Welsh form
JacksonEnglish patronymicUS Census surname tablesson of Jack, of John’s line
DavisWelsh-leaning patronymicUS Census surname tablesof David’s line, beloved
HarrisEnglish patronymicUS Census surname tablesof Harry’s line, home ruler
RobinsonEnglish patronymicUS Census surname tablesson of Robin, of Robert’s line
ThomasWelsh-leaning patronymicUS Census surname tablesof Thomas’s line, the twin
MooreEnglish placeUS Census surname tablesdweller by the moor
TaylorEnglish tradeUS Census surname tablescutter of cloth, tailor
AndersonScottish and Scandinavian patronymicUS Census surname tablesson of Andrew, manly
WilsonEnglish patronymicUS Census surname tablesson of Will, of William’s line
WashingtonEnglish placeUS Census tables: one of the highest group shares of any surnameWassa’s estate; the place name that became the honor name
JeffersonEnglish patronymicUS Census surname tablesson of Jeffrey, peace of the land
LewisNorman personal nameUS Census surname tablesof Louis’s line, famed warrior
WalkerEnglish tradeUS Census surname tablescloth fuller, one who trod wool clean
HallEnglish placeUS Census surname tablesworker at the manor house
AllenBreton personal nameUS Census surname tablesof Alan’s line, handsome or little rock
YoungEnglish nicknameUS Census surname tablesthe younger of two with one name
KingEnglish nicknameUS Census surname tablesthe one who carried himself like a king, or served one
WrightEnglish tradeUS Census surname tablesmaker, worker in wood
Scottethnic bynameUS Census surname tablesthe one from Scotland
GreenEnglish placeUS Census surname tablesdweller at the village green
BakerEnglish tradeUS Census surname tablesbaker of bread
AdamsEnglish patronymicUS Census surname tablesof Adam’s line, of the red earth
NelsonScandinavian patronymicUS Census surname tablesson of Neil, of Njal’s line
HillEnglish placeUS Census surname tablesdweller by the hill
CampbellScottish clanUS Census surname tablescrooked mouth, the clan name worn plain
The chosen names of emancipation: kept, chosen, recorded: each story names its source
Freemanchosen at emancipationFreedmen’s Bureau records; the scholarship (Gutman)a name that documents the day a family stopped being property; the receipt is the choice itself
Freedmanchosen at emancipationBureau recordsthe same choice, the other spelling; the legal word for a person made free
Lincolnchosen for the presidentpost-emancipation naming scholarship; attested patterntaken for Abraham Lincoln; the pattern is documented, no single family is claimed
Grantchosen for the generalpost-emancipation naming scholarship; attested patterntaken for Ulysses S. Grant; the same documented pattern
Douglasschosen surnameFrederick Douglass’s own narrative (autobiography)Frederick Bailey chose Johnson, then Douglass, borrowing from Douglas; his narrative says so in his own words
Truthself-chosenSojourner Truth’s documented account (standard biography)Isabella Baumfree named herself Sojourner Truth; the receipt is the act of self-naming
Tubmanmarried name, keptHarriet Tubman’s documented life (standard biography)Harriet Ross kept her first husband’s name through every run she made; the name is documented
Baileybirth name, kept by kinDouglass’s narrativethe surname Frederick was born with; his family kept it after he changed his own
Rossbirth name, keptTubman’s documented lifeHarriet Tubman’s birth surname; her family carried it
Johnsonkept or chosenBureau records; the scholarshipamong the most frequent surnames recorded for freed families; kept from the past or chosen fresh, the Bureau wrote the result
Smithkept or chosenBureau records; the scholarshipthe same double story; by 1870 among the most common surnames in the census
Washingtonchosen at schoolBooker T. Washington’s autobiography, Up from SlaveryBooker Taliaferro took Washington as his surname at school; his own book records the choosing
Presidential and honorific: the documented adoption pattern, no family-specific claims
Washingtonpresidential patternnaming scholarship; the pattern, no family claimsadopted for the first president; also the highest group-share receipt in the census tables
Jeffersonpresidential patternnaming scholarshipadopted for Thomas Jefferson
Jacksonpresidential patternnaming scholarshipadopted for Andrew Jackson
Madisonpresidential patternnaming scholarshipadopted for James Madison
Harrisonpresidential patternnaming scholarshipadopted for William Henry Harrison
Lincolnpresidential patternnaming scholarshipadopted for Abraham Lincoln; the most documented of the set
Grantpresidential patternnaming scholarshipadopted for Ulysses S. Grant, general first, president after
Tylerpresidential patternnaming scholarshipadopted for John Tyler
Monroepresidential patternnaming scholarshipadopted for James Monroe
Adamspresidential patternnaming scholarshipadopted for John Adams and John Quincy Adams
Attested historical families: the document is the receipt
Smallsattested familyRobert Smalls’s documented life (standard biography)the pilot who stole the Planter and carried his family to freedom; the small one, the root
Turnerattested familyNat Turner, documented in the historical recordthe Southampton leader; turner of wood, the trade root
Kingattested familythe King family, standard biographyMartin Luther King Jr.’s family line; the nickname root, the one who carried himself like a king
Marshallattested familyThurgood Marshall, standard biographythe first Black Supreme Court justice; marshal, the keeper of horses and of order
Parksattested familyRosa Parks, autobiography and standard biographyher refusal moved a movement; of the park, the enclosed land
Baldwinattested familyJames Baldwin, standard biographythe essayist and novelist; bold friend, the Germanic root
Morrisonattested familyToni Morrison, standard biographythe Nobel novelist; son of Maurice, the dark one, the Scottish root
Angelouattested familyMaya Angelou’s autobiographyMaya from her brother’s nickname; Angelou from her first married name, Angelos, adapted; her own books say so
Carverattested familyGeorge Washington Carver, standard biographythe scientist of the peanut; carver of wood, the trade root
Woodsonattested familyCarter G. Woodson, standard biographythe historian who built Black History Month; of Wood’s son, the place root
Wellsattested familyIda B. Wells, standard biographythe journalist who documented lynching when few would print it; dweller by the springs
Hansberryattested familyLorraine Hansberry, standard biographythe playwright of A Raisin in the Sun; the Germanic place root, Hans’s fortress
Randolphattested familyA. Philip Randolph, standard biographythe labor leader of the March on Washington movement; wolf-shield, the Germanic root
The meanings spine: root-system receipts, cited to their origin pages
SmithEnglish tradeetymology per the English page’s datasetsmitan, to strike; the metalworker
JohnsonEnglish patronymicetymology per the English page’s datasetJohn’s son, God is gracious
JacksonEnglish patronymicetymology per the English page’s datasetJack’s son, of John’s line
HarrisEnglish patronymicetymology per the English page’s datasetHarry’s son, home ruler
RobinsonEnglish patronymicetymology per the English page’s datasetRobin’s son, bright fame
ThompsonEnglish patronymicetymology per the English page’s datasetThom’s son, the twin
MooreEnglish placeetymology per the English page’s datasetthe moor, the open waste
TurnerEnglish tradeetymology per the English page’s datasetthe lathe worker, the turner of wood
WalkerEnglish tradeetymology per the English page’s datasetthe cloth fuller, the walker of wool
BrownEnglish nicknameetymology per the English page’s datasetbrown, of hair or complexion
JonesWelsh patronymicetymology per the English page’s Welsh-leaning rowsJohn’s, the Welsh -s form
DavisWelsh-leaning patronymicetymology per the English page’s Welsh-leaning rowsDavid’s, beloved
WilsonEnglish patronymicetymology per the English page’s datasetWill’s son, resolute guardian
TaylorEnglish tradeetymology per the English page’s datasetthe tailor, cutter of cloth
ThomasWelsh-leaning patronymicetymology per the English page’s Welsh-leaning rowsthe twin, the Welsh bare form
MartinLatin personal nameetymology per the English page’s datasetof Mars, the war god, worn as a name
McDonaldScottish clanetymology per the Scottish page’s datasetson of Donald, world ruler; the clan name in American frequency
McKinneyScottish surnameetymology per the Scottish page’s datasetson of Cionaodh, born of fire; the Gaelic root
McDowellScottish surnameetymology per the Scottish page’s datasetson of Dougal, the dark stranger
McCoyScottish surnameetymology per the Scottish page’s datasetson of Aodh, fire; the name of the feud and of the phrase
McPhersonScottish clanetymology per the Scottish page’s datasetson of the parson, the brat of the church
McIntyreScottish surnameetymology per the Scottish page’s datasetson of the carpenter, the wright
McCulloughScottish surnameetymology per the Scottish page’s datasetson of Cú Uladh, the hound of Ulster
McGregorScottish clanetymology per the Scottish page’s datasetson of Gregor, the watchful one
HallEnglish placeetymology per the English page’s datasetthe manor house
LewisNorman personal nameetymology per the English page’s datasetof Louis, famed warrior
YoungEnglish nicknameetymology per the English page’s datasetthe younger
KingEnglish nicknameetymology per the English page’s datasetthe kingly one, or the king’s man
WrightEnglish tradeetymology per the English page’s datasetthe maker, the wright
GreenEnglish placeetymology per the English page’s datasetthe village green
BakerEnglish tradeetymology per the English page’s datasetthe baker
AdamsEnglish patronymicetymology per the English page’s datasetAdam’s, of the red earth
NelsonScandinavian patronymicetymology per the English page’s datasetNiel’s son, the champion’s line
HillEnglish placeetymology per the English page’s datasetthe hill
CampbellScottish clanetymology per the Scottish page’s datasetcaimbeul, crooked mouth; the clan worn plain

The emancipation receipt

1865, and four million people legally needed surnames. Enslaved people had carried surnames in private life for generations, in families and churches and among themselves. Emancipation made the names legal. The Freedmen’s Bureau, whose records the National Archives holds, wrote down what families did with that freedom. Some kept the surname associated with the place they knew. Some chose a new one: Freeman, Lincoln, Johnson, or a name of their own. Some took a president’s name as an honor. Herbert Gutman’s scholarship, The Black Family in Slavery and Freedom, reads those records and documents all three paths. The Bureau recorded the result, and the result is the first bank of the table above. The same population-scale naming event is tabled for all of Europe on the how surnames work page.

The census receipt

The frequency layer is published, and this page cites it. The US Census published surname tables with the 2000 and 2010 counts. In those tables Smith and Johnson lead the surnames most frequent for Black Americans, with Williams, Brown and Jones close behind. One receipt stands out and is stated on its row: Washington carries one of the highest group shares of any surname in the country, the census analysis shows. That is the only share statistic on this page. Every frequency row above names the census tables as its source.

Surnames here, given names there

Two naming layers, two pages. This page owns American surnames: the census layer, the emancipation layer, the root systems. African given names have their own generator, drawing from Akan, Yoruba, Swahili and the other documented African naming traditions. A surname answers where a family stands. A given name answers what a child is hoped to be. The root receipts for the English and Scottish names above sit on their own pages: English last names and Scottish last names. The full A-to-Z surname index is last names with meanings.

African American last names questions, answered

Where did African American last names come from?

The emancipation window, and it is one of the best-documented naming events in American history. In 1865 about four million people legally needed surnames. The Freedmen’s Bureau recorded what happened next. Some families kept the surname associated with the place they knew. Some chose: Freeman, Lincoln, Johnson, or a name of their own. Some took a presidential name as an honor. The published scholarship, Herbert Gutman’s among it, reads the same records. The table above tables all three receipts: kept, chosen, recorded.

What are the most common ones?

Smith, Johnson and Williams lead, in the US Census surname tables. The census published surname tables in 2000 and 2010, and those tables are the frequency receipt for every name in the first bank above. Washington carries one of the highest group shares of any surname in the country; that single receipt is stated, and no other comparisons appear on this page.

Is Freeman really an emancipation name?

Yes, and the receipt is the choice itself. Families chose the name at freedom, and Bureau records and the scholarship document the choosing. It states, in one word, the day a family stopped being property and became a legal family. The row carries the source class, like every row on this page.

Where this data comes from. Frequency claims cite the US Census surname tables (2000 and 2010). The history cites Freedmen's Bureau records held by the National Archives and the published scholarship, including Herbert Gutman's The Black Family in Slavery and Freedom. Biographical rows name their source class (autobiography or standard biography); stories that could not be verified were cut, not smoothed. Root-system meanings follow the English and Scottish surname datasets, cited per row. Where every name's receipt comes from →