Funny last names down, popular names rise in UK:

New generations don’t have tolerance to continue the same funny surnames they got from generations, they are choosing an easy way…just change the surname.

In a recent study in UK compared to 1881 census, population with some of the funny names declined drastically. Surname ‘BALL’ and ‘DAFT’ down by 50% while surname ‘COCK’ down by 75%. Other funny/embarrassing names such as GOTOBED, SMELLIE, SHUFFLEBOTTOM, JELLY and DEATH are also significantly declined.

The most popular names have remained stable over the 120 years. Today the most common surnames are Smith, Jones, Williams, Brown, Taylor, Davies, Wilson, Evans, and Thomas. In 1881 the same names were the most popular in the same order.

The fastest-growing surname in Britain is Zhang, which has grown from 123 in 1996 to 5804 in 2008. It is followed by four other Chinese names – Wang, Yang, Huang and Lin; only after that do a couple of African names get a look in, Moyo and Dube.