10 of the most common last names in the world and the fascinating origins behind them

Surnames are the strongest historical tie we have to our ancestors. Though there might be plenty of mystery surrounding less popular last names, they tend to traditionally come from one of the following origins: geography (Hamilton), geographical features (Brooks), occupation (Weaver), personal characteristic (Short), estate name (Windsor), ancestry (Watson), or patronage (Hickman).But some surnames pop up more than others.Here is the history and meaning behind some of the most common last names in the world.In the US, Australia, Great Britain, and many other English-speaking countries, the most popular last name is Smith.In the 2010 US Census Bureau, 2,376,206 Americans were identified with the last name of Smith. The University of West of England in Bristol classifies the ever-popular Smith as "an English and Scottish occupational name from the Middle English period (11501470) for someone who works with metal, such as a blacksmith." Behind the Name goes even further back, noting that Smith is derived from the Old English "smitan," meaning to smite or hit, in the trade. The most popular last name in the world is Wang, meaning "king."About 92.8 million people in mainland China have the royal last name of Wang. There is significant debate over who truly descends from the original Wang clans of the Shang and Zhou dynasties, because many royal families took the name Wang when their kingdoms fell under the Qin dynasty. According to Shanghai Daily, rebranding everyone as Wang was a strategic play to hide their identities and avoid assassination, but hold onto royal tradition. Jones and Johnson, some of the top American surnames, are just variations of John.Becoming more popular in the 18th and 19th centuries in the UK, Jones is an English and Welsh variation of John. Genealogy Bank goes into further detail, pointing out that anything ending in "-son," is a patronym, meaning "son of John." John name comes from the Latin, which traces back to Greek, which goes further back to the Hebrew Bible, meaning "Yahweh has favoured." The name's European popularity dates to the Christian era when "St. John the Baptist, St. John the Evangelist and nearly one thousand other Christian saints" were relevant. Johnson is the second most common surname in America, after Smith. See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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