North American Surnames

North American surnames are a rich tapestry of migration, colonization, and cultural interchange. The continent's three largest countries—Canada, the United States, and Mexico—have distinct surname traditions created by their individual histories.

Surnames in the United States and Canada come from a diverse range of immigrant communities. The most frequent surnames are English, Irish, German, Italian, and French, like Smith, Murphy, Miller, Russo and Lefebvre, along with those of Eastern European, Chinese, Jewish, and Scandinavian origin. Enslaved Africans were frequently issued their enslavers' surnames, whilst Indigenous peoples were occasionally given anglicized or translated names. Waves of immigration, integration, and anglicization have resulted in a diverse surname landscape.

Surnames in Mexico are predominantly of Spanish origin, and people use both their paternal and maternal surnames. Colonial influence and Catholic recordkeeping traditions had a significant impact on name patterns, although Indigenous and African influences are also present, sometimes blending into Hispanic forms.

Surnames in North America represent the continent's colonial history, the displacement and survival of Indigenous cultures, and ongoing waves of global migration, making surname research both complex and rewarding for genealogists.