The surname indicates which gender the person belongs to and who his ancestor is. The origin of this concept is associated with the period of the Roman Empire. At that time, the surname was understood as a certain number of slaves belonging to one master. With the abolition of slavery, the word "surname" acquired a different meaning. In Russia its modern status was fixed in the 19th century.
The surname structure includes the root part, which is represented by a nickname, name or other lexical unit that has a direct link to the name of the ancestor. In addition, the surname may also contain suffixes, endings and other word forms. Having determined the most common surnames in the world of , one can clearly see which genus is the most quantitative on our planet.
10
Muller more than 1 million people
The 10th line is home to a generic name for more than a million people - Mueller .This one of the most common surnames in German means "miller", that is, a person who grinds grain. Müller is very much among the Germanic peoples. Also numerous bearers of the genus Melnikov are found in some French provinces.
9
Smirnov more than 2.5 million people
The next most common name is Smirnov .It has more than 2.5 million people. Moreover, after the 2002 census it was established that this name is the most popular in the Russian Federation.
In addition to Russians, this generic name has spread widely in neighboring Belarus. The surname is a derivative of the words "peaceful, pacification, put up".In ancient times so called people who observed the laws of nature and lived in harmony with it.
It is noteworthy that Russian surnames appeared as patronymic from religious names or simply nicknames. For example, Ivan and the derivative of it - Ivanov( Ivanov's son).Much less common surnames were formed on the territorial principle, from the names of localities. The third place is the formation of generic names by type of activity.
8
Smith more than 4 million people
More than four million people are carriers of one of the most common names in the world - Smith .The first association, of course, leads us to actor Will Smith, who is almost the most famous representative of the genus Smith. A talented actor has received recognition all over the world, has won many awards in the film industry.
The most strongly pronounced Smiths in England, Australia, the USA, Canada and Ireland. In the United States, there are about 3 million people belonging to the genus Smith. A lot of them in the UK - 500 thousand people.
7
Hernandez more than 8 million people
In the seventh position is located no less common name in the world - Hernandez .More than 8 million people are its carriers. As it is easy to guess, the surname is of Spanish and Portuguese origin. The first mention of it we can find in the 15th century. Very often, Hernandez is also found in Latin America - Cuba, Mexico and Chile. There are a huge number of representatives of the genus in the United States.
6
Gonzalez more than 10 million people
Related to the previous one, the name Gonzalez , has more than 10 million people. It is most common in Spain, where 2.08 percent of the population belongs to the genus Gonzalez. Also quite often this name is found in other countries of Latin America - Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Venezuela. This distribution area makes it one of the most common in the Hispanic world. Indicative is also the 23rd place in the distribution of names in the United States.
5
Garcia more than 10 million people
Another identifier for Latinos is the most popular surname Garcia .Its carriers number more than 10 million. If you visit South America, you will probably be surprised how much this name is spread there.
In addition, Garcia is also very common in the Philippines and Spain.
Deeper into history, it is worth noting that the generic name Garcia originated among the Basque peoples.
Note that traditionally in Hispanic countries, the child receives a double surname, which consists of the generic name of the father and mother, but in the first place is always the surname of the father.
4
Nguyen more than 36 million people
Alien Russian name surname Nguyen is on the fourth place in popularity. Its bearers are 36 million people. The most common is the generic name in Vietnam. According to specialists' calculations, about half of the country's residents have such a generic name.
The name is also common outside the country - quite often it occurs in Australia( at 7 positions in the prevalence here), and also in France on the 54th line. Nguyen is also found in the US, where, after the 2000 census, it occupied 57 lines in number.
3
Van more than 90 million people
Opens the top three most common names in the world - a simple and very concise generic name - Van .The first associations, which, of course, associated with the legendary popular at the time - Jean-Claude Van Damme.
As for the meaning of the surname, it represents the title of rulers in the Far East( China, Korea, Mongolia).This title was born in the Middle Ages.
Speaking of Wang as a family name, it is a fairly common generic name in China, as well as a well-known prefix to Dutch surnames.
As for the Chinese surname education system, it is distinguished by the presence of a relatively small list of possible variations. This suggests that, most likely, Chinese surnames are codified lexical units.
2
Zhang more than 100 million people
We are close to the first place, but to start a family name that is a generic name for about 100 million people - Zhang .It is very common in China. In addition, in 1990 she became the record holder of the Guinness Book of Records.
According to the 2006 census, Zhang was identified as a surname, which ranks 3rd in popularity in China. For the first time this generic name was recorded in the chronicles of 4 thousand years ago.
1
Li more than 100 million people
The first line has a surname consisting of only two letters - Lee .More than 100 million people are its carriers. This is the most common generic name in the world, which has an affiliation with the Chinese nation.
Interesting is the origin of the name - it is derived from the Chinese character "Li".Note that in terms of generic names, China does not show abundance. There are only 450 names in the country, which is why the percentages of the population with the same name are very high.
Note also that the name of Lee is very common in Vietnam.
