Did You Know: “Smith” Is the Most Common Surname in English-Speaking Countries?

By Robert Markow | From the January/February 2025 issue of Strings

Well, of course you did! In the US alone, some 2.5 million people are Smiths. But can you name a single composer for strings with this name? The closest a music aficionado might come up with is the English composer Dame Ethel Smyth (1858–1944), but both the spelling and pronunciation (rhymes with scythe) are different.

Next most common is Johnson. But there again, can you name a single well-known composer named Johnson? Renaissance scholars might know of a Robert Johnson, whose lifetime (c. 1583–1633) overlapped closely with Shakespeare’s. And yes, in case you were wondering, he did write music for some of the bard’s later plays.

How about Williams, the third most common surname? Ah, of course! Everyone knows John Williams (b. 1932), composer of some 100 film scores in addition to much music for the concert hall. In fact, it is probably safe to say that through the medium of film, more people around the world have heard music by John Williams than by any other composer in history.

Next in line comes Brown. Again, not a single well-known composer; it takes someone with considerable immersion in the field to have heard of Earle Brown (1926–2002), an American avant-garde composer known for his graphic notation and “open form.”

Fifth up, we finally come to Jones (not nearly as prevalent as Smith—there are “only” about 1.5 million Joneses in the US). Best-known of the lot is the American record producer, songwriter, arranger, trumpet player, pianist, composer, and film and television producer Quincy Jones, Jr. (1933–2024), whose delightful middle name was actually Delight. Jones studied with the likes of Nadia Boulanger and Olivier Messiaen, but most of his professional life played out across a broad spectrum of jazz, film, and pop music. In 1971, Jones became the first African American to become musical director and conductor of the Academy Awards.