This is the Most Common Last Name in Boise

One out of every 115 people has this surname in Ada County to make it more common than any other last name.

Does your name make the most-common list?

We checked, and Smith is the most common last name in Ada County, with 1 in 115 people having that last name here.   If you're playing "guess-my-last-name" at a party this weekend, guess Smith.

Johnson, Miller, Anderson, and Brown round out the top 5.

Other names that make the Top 100 in Ada County:

Taylor

Thomas

Howell

Perry

Davis

Jones

Thompson

Peterson

Walker

Roberts

Phillips

Young

Spencer

Gibson

Baker

Adams

Bell

Wallace

Campbell

Cox

Price

Lewis

Olson

Watson

Long

Shaw

Day

My dad is on the ancestry websites constantly, digging up interesting tidbits like this and connecting our family to Blakes and McCallums, but no Smiths or Johnsons.  Geneology is interesting, and it makes us wonder how some names get popular and others don't so much.  It's a lot of work reproducing at such a feverish pace, so nice work Browns, nice work.

This also makes us wonder why some Johnsons are related and some are not.  Things that decrease the probability of having a common ancestor:

• If the surname refers to any occupation (such as Smith, Cooper, Baker, etc.).

• If the surname is a color, thing or place (such as Black or Underhill).

• If the surname refers to a physical characteristic (such as Small).

• If the surname refers to the son of someone (such as Anderson or Johnson).

Fascinating!  Whatever your family history, congrats to all of you Smiths and Johnsons, on being Treasure Valley royalty.  Let's have some huckleberries and a craft beer to celebrate.