We all know the famous names of Yorkshire from Sean Bean, Jeremy Clarkson, Jessica Enis, Dame Judy Dench and Patrick Stewart. But, have you ever wondered about your heritage?
Well, thanks to the new list made by the online genealogy portal Forebears, you can see the county’s 100 most common surnames just to get a measure of how common you really are.
The top 3 names won’t be a surprise to most – with Smith, Taylor and Wilson taking the top spots. But naturally, it started to make us wonder more about the history of surnames.

Apparently, around 1066 surnames were introduced into England by Norman barons, and gradually spread across the nation forming some of the names we know well already.
In England alone, there are around 45,000 different surnames – each with its own history behind it. Sources for surnames are endless, but some common sources where names are derived are nicknames, physical attributes, counties, trades, heraldic charges, and almost every object known to mankind.
We’ve looked at a few of the top 3 most common Yorkshire ones.
Smith
There are over 46,000 Smiths in Yorkshire, and the name is derived from the Anglo-Saxon smitan, meaning “to smite or strike.” It comes from an occupational name for a man who works with metal.
Taylor
There are over 22,000 Taylors in God’s Own Country, and similar to Smith it has an occupational derivative. The English family name means “cutter of cloth” – but is derived from the old French word tailleor meaning “tailor”.
Wilson
Not far behind Taylor with just over 22,000 in Yorkshire as well, Wilson comes from the patronymic expression son of William or son of Wil.
Check out the 100 most popular surnames in Yorkshire:
- Smith 46,540
- Taylor 22,542
- Wilson 22,157
- Robinson 20,055
- Walker 19,911
- Wood 19,202
- Brown 17,279
- Jackson 16,188
- Thompson 15,838
- Harrison 13,780
- Shaw 13,721
- Johnson 13,628
- Wilkinson12,814
- Wright 12,438
- Ward 11,004
- Greenwood 10,974
- Hall 10,910
- Watson 10,483
- Barker 10,274
- Turner 9,897
- Atkinson 9,651
- Sykes 9,617
- Mitchell 9,204
- Marshall 9,177
- Holmes 9,119
- Green 9,050
- Simpson 8,747
- Haigh 8,236
- Pearson 8,191
- Richardson 8,167
- Lee 8,135
- Booth 8,083
- Ellis 7,933
- Hirst 7,862
- Foster 7,847
- Firth 7,845
- Hodgson 7,790
- Brook 7,740
- Parker 7,518
- Clark 7,514
- Hill 7,505
- Cooper 7,441
- White 7,298
- Hudson 7,217
- Hartley 7,169
- Dawson 7,094
- Scott 7,044
- Sutcliffe 7,024
- Bell 6,824
- Jones 6,784
- Roberts 6,768
- Rhodes 6,383
- Moore 6,271
- Gill 6,210
- Webster 6,082
- Dixon 5,996
- Schofield 5,680
- Stephenson 5,678
- Dyson 5,672
- Armitage 5,503
- Briggs 5,333
- Senior 5,301
- Carter 5,263
- Crowther 5,262
- Thornton 5,213
- Fletcher 5,164
- Naylor 5,062
- Bradley 4,828
- Beaumont 4,818
- Fox 4,767
- Nicholson 4,747
- Bailey 4,737
- Whitaker 4,734
- Chapman 4,711
- Gibson 4,659
- Sharp 4,659
- Hutchinson 4,620
- Spencer 4,600
- Riley 4,558
- Lister 4,551
- Whitehead 4,515
- Hanson 4,391
- Blackburn 4,389
- Stead 4,375
- Walton 4,370
- Cook 4,360
- Pickles 4,306
- Mason 4,283
- Carr 4,259
- Marsden 4,204
- Clayton 4,157
- Whiteley 4,086
- Parkin 4,064
- Fisher 4,051
- Dobson 3,962
- Lockwood 3,873
- Metcalfe 3,847
- Williams 3,834
- Holdsworth 3,814
- Clarke 3,808
Read More: 51 Yorkshire Words And Phrases That Mean Nothing To Anyone Else