In this section we'll look at the most popular American Indian and Alaskan Native last names in the United States. These names are people who self-identified as "American Indian and Alaskan Native" in the Decennial Census survey.

The most recent statistics we have for these American Indian and Alaskan Native last names are from the 2010 census.

You can use the links below to view more common American Indian and Alaskan Native last names. This page is currently showing names ranked from 1 to 2000.

Most common American Indian and Alaskan Native last names: 1-2000 | 2001-4000

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Table key

To help you understand the above table, below is a description of each column and what it represents.

1. This is the total number of occurrences for the name in the latest US Decennial Census survey.
2. This is the total number of people who self-identified as "American Indian and Alaskan Native".
3. This is the percentage of people who self-identified as "American Indian and Alaskan Native".
4. This is our unofficial rank of the last name for people who self-identified as "American Indian and Alaskan Native".
5. This is the official U.S. rank of the last name according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

You can find explanations for each of the table columns below, or use the following links to view more last names for different ancestries.

• White last names
• Black last names
• Hispanic last names
• Asian & Pacific Islander last names
• American Indian & Alaskan Native last names
• Two or more race last names

The history of Native American/Alaskan surnames

As you look at the above list of Native American and Alaskan surnames, you probably noticed something strange.

The list is very similar to the most popular white surnames.

Just as the history behind the most common Black/African-American surnames tell a dark and sad story, so too does the history of Native American and Alaskan surnames.

Where do Native American surnames come from?

Prior to 1900, Native Americans didn't have surnames. Rather, children were named at birth after an animal or physical phenomenon. These names, such as Bird Song, Runs With Wolves, or Sitting Bull were retained by the individual their entire life, although males frequently added more information to their name if they won a competition or achieved higher status within their tribe.

As Europeans and Americans began intermixing with Native Americans in America, many began adopting the practice of using a surname. But how they came to their individual surname varied widely depending on the tribe, as there were hundreds of them in the country at the time.

Some tribes were converted to Christianity. When this happened, they would take a European surname voluntarily during baptism. This is where surnames like 'Smith' and 'Johnson' were introduced into the culture.

Other tribes simply split their first names to make one a last name and one a first name. Therefore in the name Buffalo Hunt, Hunt would become the surname while Buffalo would be listed as the first name. And with a name like White Fox, Fox would become the last name. Most animal-related surnames entered American culture this way.

There were some tribes who introduced surnames by mistake when they encountered white culture. When introduced, they would refer to themselves by their given name and their tribe. Such as Bird Song of the Nez Pierce tribe.

This led to confusion in the person they were talking to (who was someone used to surnames and not familiar with tribal culture) and led to the incorrect recording of their last name as either 'Nez' or 'Pierce.' This must have happened frequently as 'Nez' and 'Pierce' are both in the top 200 Native American surnames today.

The introduction of surnames wasn't always voluntary or a mistake however, as in the early 1900s, many children were stolen from their Native American families, stripped of their tribal name, and put in a special school to teach them how to be white. This is likely how most of the white and Hispanic surnames made it into Native American culture.

Where do Alaskan surnames come from?

Although the Alaskan Natives are often grouped with the Native Americans, it's important to note that over the years, these groups evolved completely differently.

While many of the Native American cultures further south have DNA that is traceable to south American subcultures like the Mayans and Aztecs, most Native Alaskans have bloodlines that are traceable to ancient Asians. There are some tribes within the continental United States who have traces of both, but by the time Americans began their takeover of the Native Peoples of the continent, Alaska was a region with distinct tribes who had their own etymology

The Alaskan tribes were taken advantage of for years by the Russians, both in unfair trade policies, and they were also used as slaves. By the time the Americans arrived, many of the tribes were extinct or few of the original members remained.

Native Alaskans had no written language, everything was passed down orally. They also had no need for last names, and every member of the tribe was given only a first name at birth. When the Russians came, they began to build a society in Alaska, and at this time, many of the inhabitants were given surnames when they married Russians, which was encouraged by the Russian government. Thus, Russian last names were introduced into the culture, like the last name 'Kisto.'

During about 100 years of intermarriage, many of these Native Alaskans with Russian surnames returned to Russia, which was allowed at the time. So when the Americans took over the territory, those remaining without surnames were likely given one by the US government whether they wanted one or not.

Thus many American surnames like 'Smith' and 'Johnson' entered the culture. Some natives were allowed to retain or create their own surname which is how Inuit last names like Nangmalik, Adjuk, and Etok came to be. These surnames often meant something in the native language, which is now mostly obsolete as there are no written records in these languages.

This makes it difficult to know where Alaskan Natives got these last names, or what part of their language they were derived from. Additionally, the history in this area is a bit murky because Alaskan Natives are always grouped with Native Americans in census data making it difficult to find out information about a distinct race that should really have its own category.

How have Native American and Alaska surnames changed over time?

If you are of Native American or Alaska descent, you will likely find it impossible to trace your heritage via your last name for a couple of different reasons.

Native American

First and foremost, if you are Native American, it is likely your ancestor was taken from their tribe and sent to an American school where they were given a new name. These schools did not keep a record of where the children were taken from or their original names. So if your ancestor was too young to remember, all information about your family's history would be untraceable from this point.

Even if your ancestor was able to remember their tribe, they were forbidden from speaking about tribal life in school. And when you don't think or talk about something as a child, this causes memories to fade. Therefore even some of the oldest children stolen from their families were unable to reconnect with their Tribes as an adult.

Some lucky Native Americans are born into families who didn't get taken by the American government. When this is the case, you will likely know some of your history from tribal records. Before Native Americans began mixing with Americans and Europeans however, the tribes rarely had written languages, rather they simply passed oral stories down. Meaning you will be unlikely to trace your family lineage very far past the arrival of Europeans in America.

Native Alaskan

Those who are Native Alaskan face a whole different problem. While they weren't subject to the same tyranny as Native Americans, many were still given English last names by the government. Not to mention that many who had Russian last names may have faced scrutiny during the Cold War following World War II and may have voluntarily decided to change their surname to one which would help them blend in better, like 'Smith.'

Same as with the Native Americans, even if you have a Native Alaskan last name, this will only get you so far, as the Native Alaskans have never kept written records. Rather, everything was delivered orally. And considering there were over twenty languages in the region, most of which are dead now, it may be impossible to learn what your name means or where your family came from.

To give you an idea, if you are from the Alaskan Aleut tribe, there are fewer than 100 speakers of the language left. If you are from the more northern Alaskan Inuit tribe, there are about 36,000 native speakers left on Earth, but don't get too excited as there are over 4 different Inuit languages included in that number, and not all dialects are widely spoken anymore. The languages of other tribes like Eyak have been lost completely.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of last names was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve our data, please contact us.

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