Need last name suggestions for a character, a pen name or a new family name? Below are more than 280 last name ideas in six groups, all checked against our data. Real names come from the 2020 US Census surname list or our surname lists for 27 cultures; fantasy names are clearly marked as invented. Every last name idea here can be copied: press Copy all on any group to take the whole list.
Popular, classic last names
The 40 most common surnames in the US. Familiar, easy to spell and never out of place.
- Smith
- Johnson
- Williams
- Brown
- Jones
- Garcia
- Miller
- Rodriguez
- Davis
- Martinez
- Hernandez
- Lopez
- Gonzalez
- Wilson
- Anderson
- Thomas
- Taylor
- Moore
- Lee
- Jackson
- Perez
- Martin
- Thompson
- White
- Sanchez
- Harris
- Ramirez
- Clark
- Nguyen
- Lewis
- Robinson
- Walker
- Hall
- Young
- Allen
- King
- Wright
- Torres
- Flores
- Scott
Short, simple and cool last names
Real US surnames of four letters or fewer from the 3,000 most common. Quick to say and easy to remember.
- Lee
- Hall
- King
- Hill
- Diaz
- Cruz
- Cook
- Kim
- Reed
- Bell
- Doe
- Ward
- Cox
- Gray
- Wood
- Ruiz
- Chen
- Ross
- Long
- Tran
- West
- Cole
- Ford
- Wang
- Li
- Webb
- Shaw
- Hunt
- Rose
- Fox
- Boyd
- Soto
- Rice
- Yang
- Le
- Ryan
- Dunn
- Pena
- Hart
- Ray
Elegant English-style last names
Surnames ending in -ton, -ley, -ford, -worth, -field or -well, which come from English place names. All rank in the top 10,000.
- Hamilton
- Washington
- Crawford
- Bradley
- Johnston
- Stanley
- Caldwell
- Shelton
- Thornton
- Hampton
- Maxwell
- Harrington
- Houston
- Clayton
- Singleton
- Bradford
- Hensley
- McDowell
- Beasley
- Preston
- Blackwell
- Stafford
- Middleton
- Livingston
- Buckley
- Bentley
- Pennington
- Sanford
- Stanton
- Compton
- Hatfield
- Crowley
- Hartley
- Whitfield
- Mayfield
- Britton
- Rutherford
- Covington
- Langley
- Shirley
Unique last names that are still real
Each of these is shared by only a few hundred people in the US, so they stand out without sounding made up.
- Meachem
- Grisolia
- Pondillo
- Omoto
- Salvage
- Johncox
- Gunns
- Yacinthe
- Yezak
- Stroot
- Wasiewicz
- Pedrozo
- Lausterer
- Maciolek
- Blado
- Shafe
- Ceglia
- Dambrosi
- Hentley
- Huckleby
- Tasaki
- Benhaim
- Eighmey
- Keenoy
- Marsey
- Yataco
- Rumpel
- Muramatsu
- Divietro
- Scheuber
- Poellnitz
- Brauser
- Quimson
- Channey
- Mendy
- Kulle
- Genty
- Humen
- Eppens
- Milum
Last names from around the world
Three surnames from each of the 27 cultures in the generator, from Irish and Italian to Korean and Nigerian.
- Ingram English
- King English
- Knight English
- Quigley Irish
- Foley Irish
- Sheridan Irish
- Armstrong Scottish
- Johnston Scottish
- Paterson Scottish
- Owen Welsh
- Price Welsh
- Williams Welsh
- Buzzi Italian
- De Col Italian
- Balestra Italian
- Kanimal Spanish
- Girón Spanish
- Carrera Spanish
- Garcia Portuguese
- Carneiro Portuguese
- Pereira Portuguese
- Adam French
- Beaumont French
- Francois French
- Ophey German
- Dörner German
- Matschke German
- van der Horst Dutch
- Wagenaar Dutch
- Janssen Dutch
- Mattsson Scandinavian
- Krogh Scandinavian
- Persson Scandinavian
- Toivonen Finnish
- Korhonen Finnish
- Anttila Finnish
- Nowakowski Polish
- Więcek Polish
- Lesiak Polish
- Knotek Czech
- Lukáš Czech
- Jež Czech
- Pintér Hungarian
- Szalai Hungarian
- Pataki Hungarian
- Oprea Romanian
- Calin Romanian
- Vasile Romanian
- Koutalianos Greek
- Dimaras Greek
- Vergas Greek
- Gorbachev Russian
- Nesterov Russian
- Isaev Russian
- Sarıoğlu Turkish
- Özberk Turkish
- Samancı Turkish
- Bakri Arabic
- Yassin Arabic
- Hassan Arabic
- Bhattathiri Indian
- Kapoor Indian
- Arora Indian
- Oparinde Nigerian
- Nwachukwu Nigerian
- Oyeniyi Nigerian
- Zhou Chinese
- Tang Chinese
- Kwok Chinese
- Ishikawa Japanese
- Takano Japanese
- Wada Japanese
- Lim Korean
- Kim Korean
- Do Korean
- Do Vietnamese
- Tong Vietnamese
- Huynh Vietnamese
- Lim Filipino
- Fernandez Filipino
- Reyes Filipino
Made-up fantasy last names
Invented by our fantasy generator, six in each style. Free to use for characters, games and worlds.
- Hawkridge Nature
- Ravenmere Nature
- Stonecrest Nature
- Winterwind Nature
- Starthorne Nature
- Ravenwyn Nature
- Elamalan Elven
- Elamaion Elven
- Haesithil Elven
- Vaelithas Elven
- Elilonor Elven
- Sylreniel Elven
- Steelfist Dwarven
- Coalfist Dwarven
- Flintbraid Dwarven
- Thunderbraid Dwarven
- Coalmane Dwarven
- Embermane Dwarven
- Cloverpot Halfling
- Thistleburrow Halfling
- Puddlemeadow Halfling
- Cobbleburrow Halfling
- Bramblebottom Halfling
- Barleymeadow Halfling
- Ragskull Orc
- Gromgut Orc
- Gorhide Orc
- Kraghide Orc
- Narend Orc
- Durzskull Orc
- Ravholt Noble house
- Halridge Noble house
- Lorcester Noble house
- Marville Noble house
- Rotholt Noble house
- Sevcester Noble house
- Thanevane Dark
- Kaelgrave Dark
- Baneblight Dark
- Banemourn Dark
- Gravblight Dark
- Ravblight Dark
How to pick a good last name
- Say it with the first name. A good last name has a different rhythm from the first name. Test pairs with the first-name match tool, which gives each one a flow score.
- Keep it simple if it will be used a lot. Simple last names are quicker to spell on the phone and easier to remember.
- Choose rarity on purpose. Common names blend in; rare ones stand out. The unique last name generator only shows names shared by a few hundred people.
- Check its real-world weight. Look up how many people have a name with our surname lookup.
Want more surname ideas?
These lists are a starting point. The random last name generator has over 156,000 real US surnames plus names from 27 cultures, and the fantasy last name generator invents new ones in seven styles. For characters, see the character last name generator.
Frequently asked questions
What’s a good last name for a boy?
Last names aren’t male or female in English: there’s no such thing as a girl last name or a male last name, so any good last name works for anyone. If you’re naming a boy character, short, strong names like Cole, Knox or Reed from the short and cool list are popular picks.
What makes a last name cool?
Short names with a strong consonant, like Knox, Cruz or Shaw, tend to read as cool. So do rare names that are still easy to say. To use the generator as a cool last name generator, set Name length to short and How common to Rare.
Can you make up your own last name?
Yes. In the US you can legally change your name, including to a new surname, through your state’s court process or as part of marriage, and the rules vary by state. To create a new family name from two existing ones, try the last name combiner. This is general information, not legal advice.
Where do these family name ideas come from?
US names are from the Census Bureau’s 2020 surname file. Names from other cultures are from open surname lists. Fantasy names are invented by our generator.