The 18 most common surnames in the West Midlands - see where yours ranks
Data reveals the most common surnames in our region.
These are the 18 most prevalent surnames in the metropolitan West Midlands, according to experts at Forebears.
The West Midlands is the most ethnically diverse region of the UK outside London; according to the 2021 Census, around 45 per cent of people living in the metropolitan West Midlands did not identify as being from a White British background.
The region’s unique cultural mix and industrial heritage that helped shape modern Britain can be seen in the names that make up the population.
All information relating to surnames is courtesy of data from Forebears.
The 18 most common surnames in the West Midlands:
1. Smith
The most common surname in England and much of the English-speaking world is also the most prevalent in the West Midlands, with one Smith in every 83 people locally. It derives from the occupation of smithing, or working with metal - fitting given the region’s industrial heritage.
2. Jones
The West Midlands again follows the English trend: Jones (or ‘son of John/Johan/Jone’) is the second-most common family name in both, with almost 29,000 people named Jones in our region.
3. Kaur
Two-fifths of the Kaurs in England (42 per cent) live in the West Midlands, where it is the third-most common surname despite being the 93rd-most common in the country. It is adopted by baptised female Sikhs.
4. Singh
Singh is the 54th-most common surname in England but is fourth locally, where there are around 23,200 people with the surname. Like its female counterpart Kaur, Singh is a religious surname adopted by Sikhs partly to reduce caste-based prejudice.
5. Williams
Like Jones, Williams is patronymic, or derived from the father’s name (’son of William’). It is the fifth-most common surname in the West Midlands and in England.
6. Begum
Begum is a female name originating from Turkic languages. A fifth (21 per cent) of the Begums in England live in the West Midlands according to Forebears.
7. Taylor
Another traditional English surname likely derived from an occupation, it is the third-most common in England. There are around 15,600 Taylors in the West Midlands.
8. Hussain
This Arabic name is the diminutive of Hassan, meaning ‘good’, ‘handsome’ or ‘beautiful’. Around one in every 200 people in the West Midlands is a Hussain.
9. Evans
Evans, of Welsh origin, is slightly more common in the West Midlands than in England, where it is the 13th-most prevalent surname.
10. Khan
The surname Khan, of Turkic and Mongolian origin, is derived from the historic title meaning 'military chief' or 'royalty'. It is the 17th-most common surname in the world, 40th-most common in England and 10th-most common in the West Midlands.
11. Patel
There are around 12,000 people in the West Midlands with the name Patel, an Indian surname that originated in the state of Gujarat. It ranks slightly lower in the West Midlands than in England as a whole (ninth-most common).
12. Brown
Another English mainstay derived from the name of an ancestor (’son of Brun’), Brown is less common locally than it is in the country at large: it is the fourth-most prevalent in England and the 12th-most common in the West Midlands.
13. Davies
Also originating in Wales, this surname is more common in other parts of England than in the West Midlands, where a little under seven per cent of the country’s Davieses reside.
14. Harris
Meaning ‘son of Harry/Henry’, this name became widespread after the name Henri was introduced to Britain by the Normans. It is more common in the West Midlands than in England as a whole, where it is the 23rd-most common surname.
15. Ali
This unisex given name and surname has multiple origins but is common throughout the Muslim world. It is only the 70th-most common surname in England and a little under 13 per cent of England’s Alis live in the West Midlands.
16. Johnson
Like Jones, this name originally meant ‘son of John’. It is under-represented in the West Midlands, where less than five per cent of England’s Johnsons live. It is the seventh-most common surname in the country.
17. Clarke
Another occupational surname (from ‘clerk’), Clarke is more common in the West Midlands than in England generally, where it is the 20th-most prevalent.
18. Hill
Hill has one of the more straightforward origin stories on this list - it simply meant ‘a person who lived on a hill’. There is one Hill for every 328 people in the West Midlands, and it is more common here than in England as a whole (28th-most common). Perhaps West Midlands folk of the past were unusually prone to settling on hills?