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Last Names by Country of Origin

Try to guess the countries where these these last names originated.
Answer must correspond to highlighted box
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Featured Quiz
Last updated: September 27, 2020
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First submittedJanuary 16, 2012
Times taken147,919
Average score76.2%
Rating4.57
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Name
Country
Smith
United Kingdom
O'Donnell
Ireland
Rodriguez
Spain
Chen
China
Kim
Korea
Dubois
France
Schneider
Germany
Name
Country
Kardashian
Armenia
Papadopoulos
Greece
Lombardi
Italy
Sørensen
Denmark / Norway
Kowalski
Poland
Ionescu
Romania
Ivanov
Russia / Bulgaria
Name
Country
Patel
India
Jafari
Iran
Nakamura
Japan
Nguyen
Vietnam
Shevchenko
Ukraine
Teixeira
Portugal
Abdullah
Saudi Arabia
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108 Recent Comments
nixieknox
+3
Level 48
Jun 14, 2013
McDonald should be Mac Donald. Mc Donald is irish.
Klabnix
+1
Level 24
Jan 7, 2015
both are scottish, Irish would be O'
jmellor13
+13
Level 67
Mar 11, 2017
No, "Mc" is Irish as well. "Mac" is Scottish.
Malbaby
+8
Level 70
Mar 11, 2017
It may surprise you to know that the Scots came from Ireland to Scotland originally. Bringing with them the bagpipes and names.
DrunkytheSnowman
+7
Level 55
Feb 7, 2022
Actually the Romans introduced the bagpipes to the Caledonians (Scottish) so it wasn't the Hibernians (Irish) that gave them that part of their culture. Though yes the names did originate with them.
PolPetrol
+3
Level 58
May 16, 2025
But aside from introducing us to the bagpipes, what have the Romans ever done for us?
GalwayAnto
+2
Level 43
Feb 11, 2022
The Irish thought the Scots how to make whiskey, but they have yet to master it, or learn how to spell it!
granuaile
+8
Level 77
Jun 13, 2023
Mac means 'son' and is written either in full or the short version Mc. Both versions are used in Ireland and Scotland. Mc, Mac Donnell/O'Donnell are Irish names while Mc, MacDonald is Scottish. Original Irish clans had a Mac (son) and Ó (Uí,Ua) 'grandson' (or more distant relative) version of the name.

Bagpipes played nowadays are the Highland Pipes which became generally popular a couple of centuries ago. Prior to that similar bagpipes usually referred to as 'war pipes' were used in Ireland. These bagpipes had two drones on the shoulder rather than three. Eventually the Highland Pipes became more popular for 'outside' events and the Uileann Pipes for indoors.

The Romans called the people who lived in Ireland (Hibernia) 'Scoti" and these people eventually gave their name to modern Scotland. They brought the Gaelic language across to Scotland (Caledonia) and that eventually replaced the Brythonic language spoken there (usually referred to as Pictish).

sootyboi
+2
Level 49
Nov 11, 2024
McDonald is both I believe. While Mac is typically Scottish and Mac is typically Irish, there is some overlap, especially where some individuals were inconsistent with spelling their names.
SukiKabuki
+2
Level 93
Feb 26, 2014
Great concept for a quiz! It was a lot of fun :)
sillie
+1
Level 76
May 19, 2014
Could add "Laine" which I am pretty sure is a Finnish name when I see it in endtexts. Or "Pietila" which appears in the Simpsons end texts (Bonita). Or to be the most stereotypical Finnish find a name ending in -inen :)
Baltimorean
+1
Level 66
Nov 4, 2014
Jorma Kaukonen! Eero Saarinen! And that, I am sorry to say, is the extent of my knowledge of Finnish surnames (not counting Jean Sibelius, whose first language was Swedish).
DiscoBayGolfer
+8
Level 79
Nov 13, 2014
When I saw Kardashian and Kim's face I typed in Djibouti
mathdrew
+2
Level 63
Jan 7, 2015
fun quiz .... got 'em all with only 9 sec left ... Patel from India was my toughest one
Nathaniel
+1
Level 76
Apr 14, 2019
Patel is Pi's surname
Jonathan
+1
Level 28
Jan 7, 2015
Very easy indeed, but fun!
drLuigi
+1
Level 45
Jan 8, 2015
Great quiz. I liked it so much I made my own version. You can find it here:

http://www.jetpunk.com/user-quizzes/33628/last-names-by-country-quiz-2

rawe
+1
Level 67
Jan 12, 2015
Missed Patel.
cappa1
+1
Level 76
Mar 11, 2015
Great quiz!
Freestatebear
+3
Level 87
Feb 11, 2016
Only missed Romania - which makes me feel dumb, as I'm old enough to remember the fall of Nicolae Ceausescu.
mamahram
+2
Level 56
Mar 13, 2016
Abdullah is not a last name!
minty39
+4
Level 73
Sep 1, 2016
I know someone with that last name so I'm pretty sure it can be a last name
ChipOtley
+15
Level 73
Mar 11, 2017
What about King Abdullah? King is his first name; Abdullah his last. QED.
kalbahamut
+5
Level 81
Jul 23, 2019
The name is Arabic, but it's not really used as a surname in Saudi Arabia. I have seen it used as a surname commonly in other Arabic-speaking countries, though.
ThePerfectBoing
+1
Level 44
Jul 22, 2024
Abdulla is not a surname, but it can be a last name, though. People choose to end their names with it, but officially it certainly ISN'T a surname. You only know this when you're an Arab.
Sifhraven
+1
Level 74
Aug 1, 2024
So I'm an Arab now? Cause now I know..
dunkinggandalf2
+2
Level 71
May 13, 2025
That's how they get you!
MarcellDAvis
+1
Level 78
Sep 13, 2021
In any case, the name is from the Arabic language, but not strictly from Saudi Arabian. Most other languages are strongly associated with a certain country or origin (Irish / Ireland, Spanish / Spain), but for Arabic this is not the case. Arabia is much greater, not just geographically but also culturally, than just the Saudi kingdom. So I think Arabia instead of Saudi Arabia should be used as the place of origin for this name.
ThePerfectBoing
+1
Level 44
Jul 22, 2024
Arabic originated in the Arabian Peninsula, most of which is occupied by modern-day Saudi Arabia. The language spread to north and east Africa and the Palatine area WAAAAAAY after "Abdulla" was already there. So other Arab speaking countries don't actually count. A more accurate answer would be Arabian Peninsula.
Nicolarenaldini
+1
Level 28
May 6, 2016
3:52 minutes left 😁
markthoma
+1
Level 73
Mar 6, 2018
Amazing, 3:52 myself.

Fun quiz, I would love a longer, harder quiz, it's fun to try to figure these out.

Possums
+2
Level 30
May 12, 2016
The word "Iran" just happened to come on in a song I was playing when looking at the name
Neptune777
+1
Level 69
Jul 10, 2016
17/21, glad I got some harder ones like Romania and Ukraine. Knew Armenia from a previous quiz on here!
LadyMary
+1
Level 38
Jul 23, 2016
1:50 left, thanks for 5 points!
minty39
+1
Level 73
Sep 1, 2016
Out of these 21 names, there are 11 that belong to people I've met. All of them were born in the US (as far as I know) so it's interesting to see how many people had families that were immigrants
Malbaby
+2
Level 70
Mar 11, 2017
Surely most of the people in USA came from immigrant families?........ Even the native Indians originally came across the Bering Strait from Asia.
DonTheLamplighter
+2
Level 86
Sep 23, 2016
Over time, I noticed that fairly consistently, when Scandinavian surnames ended in "s_n", it was "son" in Sweden and "sen" in Denmark. Now I'll have to keep an eye out for how it's spelled in Norwegian names.
divantilya
+1
Level 36
Oct 28, 2016
To Baltimorian: Or it could be that Gurderian was of Armenian heritage. I doubt if Hitler and his ilk paid much attention, as long as you looked Aryan (which, by the way is Iranian) and didn't have Jewish last name.
YantheMan
+2
Level 66
Jan 9, 2017
I did better at this than I thought I would. Only missed Teixeira.
vincc
+1
Level 58
Mar 11, 2017
this discussion is a regular Algonquin Round Table
CupASoup
+2
Level 53
Mar 11, 2017
Serj Tankian should be the name for Armenia. Or literally any other Armenian person who actually gives half a damn about their heritage.
WhatIsLove
+1
Level 61
Mar 11, 2017
Got everything except Kardashian, I don't feel to bad about myself
KoljiVriVoda
+1
Level 79
Mar 11, 2017
Ivanov is also Serbian last name.
DrunkytheSnowman
+1
Level 55
Feb 7, 2022
Cool. The quiz is asking for the origin though and the origin is Russian. The Serbs gained the name through Russian influence.
ForgottenOne
+2
Level 50
Mar 11, 2017
I knew most of them right off the bat except for Ionescu and Jafari. Ionescu I just kept guessing eastern european countries, and Jafaru I kept guessing middle eastern countries.
mdjones
+1
Level 43
May 20, 2017
Typed German numerous time for Schneider wondering why it wasn't working, only after the quiz to realise Germany was the answer, duhh!
VikingLicking
+1
Level 38
Jun 23, 2017
I got everything except Kardashian.
Sifhraven
+1
Level 74
Jan 24, 2019
I tried Netherlands for smith. It is very common here, though also often written as smith. Since it was about where the name originated, I didnt try usa or uk first. Because many words came into the english language through german or dutch. Though in this case it obviously could have evolved on its own in the uk aswell, since they would have had smithies too ;).

so even if the word itself is derived from german or dutch. By the time lastnames became a thing, the word allready excisted in english.

divantilya
+1
Level 36
May 15, 2019
^ In dutch, the spelling would be Smit (w/o the "h"). In German it would be Schmidt. - I spent four years in school in the Netherlands and never heard of a dutch native (or someone from within the Dutch Diaspora) spell their name any other way than Smit; Smits; or Schmidt.
Sifhraven
+1
Level 74
Jul 2, 2019
I spend my whole life here and have been with a smith in every class . Never with a smit or do I know one or anyone that I know knows ones. Personal experiences dont say everything though, just because you havent come across one doesnt mean it is a (common) name here. And because I havent met a smit (even feels weird to write it like that for me..) doesnt mean they are not there. I know they are and indeed more prevalent than smith. There is also smid (and even smidt. Schmidt is german as is schmit) I think the ratio is about 4 smit 1 smid 1 smith.
leannevz
+1
Level 55
Apr 27, 2020
I have also only come across people called Smit or Smid here, but I guess Smith with an H would be an old fashioned way of spelling Smit. We used to have more sch/ch/h in Dutch a few centuries back.
MickSolo
+6
Level 26
Feb 1, 2019
Suprised that Nguyen only got 71%, I mean ffs 60% of the population has that last name
kalbahamut
+4
Level 81
Jul 23, 2019
I'm guessing the European visitors to the site bring down the average. There aren't that many Vietnamese immigrants in Europe, compared to the USA.
EcceHomo
+1
Level 84
Mar 3, 2021
This is true, but it has popped up in several other quizzes on this site. It must be very widely known in the US, because you guys always mention that it is easy. I only know it from this site, so er, well done jetpunk !
kalbahamut
+1
Level 81
Mar 7, 2021
It is such an overwhelmingly common name in Vietnam - literally 400,000x more common than the name Smith is in the UK - that if your town has even a small Vietnamese immigrant community you would have definitely heard it many times. Add in the surnames Le, Pham, Tran, Huynh, Phan, Vu, Dang, Bui, Do, Ho, Ngo, Ly, and Duong... and that's 90% of all Vietnamese people.
duckwantbread
+2
Level 65
Jun 13, 2023
Conversely as a Brit it shocked me that 27% of people didn't know Patel, but I suppose it's only obvious to me because British Indian is the largest ethnic minority in our country.
leannevz
+1
Level 55
Apr 27, 2020
I kept trying African countries for Nakamura, because it reminded me of the French (Malinese ethnicity) singer Aya Nakamura! When I later thought about it, it hit me that it also sounded very Japanese lol
Dumbuya
+1
Level 34
May 13, 2025
Nigeria / Benin / Cameroon should’ve been the answer. The Japanese civilization was kick started by West Africans, particularly the Edo people of Nigeria. The former name for Tokyo is Edo. Many Japanese names and words derive from Edo.
Rhys69
+1
Level 59
Aug 3, 2020
Chen is more likely to be Taiwan than China.
jmellor13
+3
Level 67
Nov 14, 2020
The quiz asks where the name originated, not where it's more common now.
stayc0tt
+1
Level 45
Aug 3, 2020
Very nice quiz-Thanks!
Yoshimano
+1
Level 65
Sep 13, 2020
Nice one, though fairly easy.

4:03, FTR

Thanks!

theRomanianGuy
+2
Level 62
Nov 14, 2020
I' m glad to see that I am not the only one who got tricked because thinking about Aya Nakamura. I tried Mali 7 times and then switched to a lot of African countries even those who don't speak French. Whatever glad to see my country -escu is probably the most Romanian suffix. It use to be a tie with achi * but now it s not so common, and it is mostly prevalent in Moldova*.
Dumbuya
+1
Level 34
May 13, 2025
Nigeria / Benin / Cameroon should’ve been the answer for Nakamura.

The Japanese civilization was kick started by West Africans, particularly the Edo people of Nigeria. The former name for Tokyo is Edo. Many Japanese names and words derive from Edo.

JackintheBox
+1
Level 80
Nov 14, 2020
Done with 4:12 remaining!
geophile
+5
Level 71
Nov 14, 2020
Perhaps asking for language of origin would have been more meaningful. For example, Kim could come from North Korea or South Korea.
wkrpnyc
+1
Level 82
Jun 13, 2023
We have the same names in DPRK & ROK. And the diaspora, including the Chosunjok of China, Koryo-saram of the former USSR, and in the Americas and NZ/Aus although the written forms are different. Only Zainichis (Korean Japanese) have changed their names from common Korean names.
JWatson24
+1
Level 71
Nov 14, 2020
Hate that I didn't get "Teixera." I kept thinking it was a Latino name and typed literally every country in Latin America (including Brazil). I thought for sure I already tried Portugal, but I guess I didn't :P
madmonte
+1
Level 71
Nov 14, 2020
Kardashian is sometimes said to be from Turkish? Is that true?
ander217
+1
Level 75
Nov 15, 2020
I got Jafari by thinking about Jafar from the movie Aladdin which I thought had a Middle East setting.
AbhishekNS
+2
Level 57
Nov 16, 2020
Actually the story of Aladdin is based in China, although a lot of details in the story doesn't make sense in a chinese setting.
Damangio
+1
Level 64
Nov 16, 2020
If "Korea" is accepted, can "Persia" be accepted?
Abby
+2
Level 47
May 2, 2021
Korea is only accepted because the last name Kim comes from the Korean language, which belongs to neither North Korea or South Korea but to both Koreas
Dollyfroggy
+2
Level 63
Nov 17, 2020
Did anyone think about Avatar: The Last Airbender when they saw Papadopoulos?
SpartanLlama
+1
Level 74
Aug 13, 2021
No...I had to look up what you meant cuz Aang only said that 1 time in 1 episode, not particularly memorable.
SpartanLlama
+1
Level 74
Dec 18, 2021
When I was rewatching some of it the other day I thought back to this haha
JWatson24
+3
Level 71
Mar 11, 2022
Just to clarify, it's Pippinpaddleopsicopolis, not Papadopoulos (although I see where you get that from). I'm always happy to see Avatar fans in the comments though :)
thread
+1
Level 67
Aug 30, 2022
Me rewatching Avatar while reading this comment section and being 1 minute before the Pippinpaddleopsicopolis scene:
SpartanLlama
+1
Level 74
Aug 13, 2021
2:15 remaining, got Ionescu cuz it reminded me of Ceaușescu
Sheepyboy
+1
Level 61
Nov 10, 2021
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territories, 326 Indian reservations, and some minor possessions.[j] At 3.8 million square miles (9.8 million square kilometers), it is the world's third- or fourth-largest country by total area.[e] The United States shares significant land borders with Canada to the north and Mexico to the south as well as limited maritime borders with the Bahamas, Cuba, and Russia.[20] With a population of more than 331 million people, it is the third most populous country in the world. The national capital is Washington, D.C., and the most populous city is New York City. Paleo-Indians migrated from Siberia to the North American mainland at least 12,000 years ago, and European colonization began in the 16th century. The United States emerged from the thirteen British colonies.
Jato
+5
Level 71
Feb 10, 2022
Thanks for all that information that has nothing to do with this quiz.
IvoRobotnik
+1
Level 50
Dec 22, 2024
Thanks, I always wondered what that big thing stuck between Canada and Mexico is
Jato
+1
Level 71
Feb 10, 2022
“Korea” is not a country.
Lobito
+1
Level 28
Feb 6, 2025
It was unified
partdavid
+2
Level 74
May 13, 2025
It should be written "North Korea / South Korea" on the quiz in a similar manner to "Denmark / Norway".
Anonymouse123
+2
Level 33
Apr 16, 2022
Lester Papadopoulous from Trials of Apollo by Rick Riordan
SpartanLlama
+1
Level 74
Jun 8, 2022
54 seconds
cristauxfeur
+3
Level 59
Feb 4, 2023
Lol who else put Mali for Nakamura because of Aya Nakamura
Dumbuya
+1
Level 34
May 13, 2025
And the only African name on here was given to Japan. Nigeria / Benin / Cameroon should’ve been the answer for Nakamura.

The Japanese civilization was kick started by West Africans, particularly the Edo people of Nigeria. The former name for Tokyo is Edo. Many Japanese names and words derive from Edo.

SpartanLlama
+1
Level 74
May 12, 2023
43 seconds
YTBRSosyalEmre
+1
Level 65
Jun 13, 2023
Fun fact:Kardashian kids' great-great grandparents escaped the Armenian genocide
Fianchetto
+1
Level 77
Jun 13, 2023
Can you accept Dprk and Rok for Korea?
BuzzHedges
+1
Level 65
Jun 13, 2023
Great quiz, please make more like it!
iliyas17
+2
Level 57
Jun 13, 2023
I play FIFA and that helped a lot
ctleng76
+1
Level 65
Jun 14, 2023
I wasn't expecting Italy to be so rarely guessed. That one seemed obvious to me.
QuizzerBros
+1
Level 68
Jun 14, 2023
Could you accept the usual abbreviated type-ins for North and South Korea?
UrMumsAGiraffe
+1
Level 33
Jun 16, 2023
So Europe gets 12/21 of the questions and Africa gets 0/21 despite Africa having more countries to work with here.
Dumbuya
+1
Level 34
May 13, 2025
And the only African name on here was given to Japan. Nigeria / Benin / Cameroon should’ve been the answer for Nakamura.

The Japanese civilization was kick started by West Africans, particularly the Edo people of Nigeria. The former name for Tokyo is Edo. Many Japanese names and words derive from Edo.

elcampeador
+1
Level 79
Jan 11, 2024
I guessed Brazil but then didn't follow it through by guessing Portugal...
Murphster45
+2
Level 95
Jan 26, 2024
Thank you JonTron (aka Jon Jafari) for being of Iranian descent to help me get 100%
inigogaga
+1
Level 50
Feb 4, 2024
García is definitely the most popular last name in Spain. Same with Martin in France.
dhyeypatel
+3
Level 43
Apr 28, 2024
Patel featured 💪 💪 💪
FreeStater
+1
Level 78
Jul 15, 2024
Cool quiz. Consider accepting ROK and DPRK for Korea?
Thomaslmb
+1
Level 28
Jan 31, 2025
Very good and fun quizz.
Beatheking1
+1
Level 23
May 13, 2025
Was Dubois and Kowalski from a streetcar named desire intentional lol?
zarodinu
+1
Level 49
May 13, 2025
could have sworn smith was a Mongolian last name...
MaxGameAndWatch
+1
Level 46
May 14, 2025
Are you a StarFox fan ? O'Donnell and Lombardi :D
eurotec
+1
Level 49
May 19, 2025
Nice quiz. Got Jafari!
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