Predominant U.S. Surnames Map comes from National Geographic research. Mina Liu and Oliver Uberti for National Geographic examine the most common surnames across the country:

What’s in a Surname? A new view of the United States based on the distribution of common last names shows centuries of history and echoes some of America’s great immigration sagas. To compile this data, geographers at University College London used phone directories to find the predominant surnames in each state. Software then identified the probable provenances of the 181 names that emerged.

Liu and Uberti’s map shows the most common surnames, geographically with origins denoted in color. The United States predominant surnames map from National Geographic shows what surnames abound where you’re doing research. Double-click on the map to search or click here to see the full-sized map at National Geographic.