Most common surnames in South Africa

The 100 surnames with the most bearers in South Africa

Dlamini
#1
11.200.192
bearers (top 100)
100
surnames
  1. Surnames of the world
  2. South Africa
  3. Most common surnames in South Africa

This table shows the 100 most common surnames in South Africa, ranked by number of bearers. Data comes from official censuses and civil registries.

Nkosi
300.929
2
Dlamini
310.094
1
Ndlovu
281.656
3
# Surname Bearers Share
1 Dlamini 310.094
2.8%
2 Nkosi 300.929
2.7%
3 Ndlovu 281.656
2.5%
4 Khumalo 273.217
2.4%
5 Sithole 216.358
1.9%
6 Botha 215.864
1.9%
7 Mahlangu 215.528
1.9%
8 Mokoena 209.762
1.9%
9 Smith 182.680
1.6%
10 Naidoo 179.257
1.6%
11 Mkhize 173.326
1.5%
12 Mthembu 171.793
1.5%
13 Ngcobo 163.802
1.5%
14 Gumede 163.265
1.5%
15 Jacobs 153.800
1.4%
16 Buthelezi 149.129
1.3%
17 Zulu 148.867
1.3%
18 Nel 148.684
1.3%
19 Pretorius 147.892
1.3%
20 Venter 145.242
1.3%
21 Khoza 143.494
1.3%
22 Coetzee 137.352
1.2%
23 Fourie 136.803
1.2%
24 Sibiya 133.461
1.2%
25 Van wyk 131.929
1.2%
26 Du plessis 131.218
1.2%
27 Govender 130.275
1.2%
28 Mofokeng 129.329
1.2%
29 Mhlongo 126.648
1.1%
30 Pillay 124.997
1.1%
31 Baloyi 124.602
1.1%
32 Mbatha 121.567
1.1%
33 Smit 121.120
1.1%
34 Radebe 119.966
1.1%
35 Kruger 116.869
1%
36 Mathebula 114.416
1%
37 Ntuli 113.766
1%
38 Zwane 112.699
1%
39 Mazibuko 111.243
1%
40 Williams 110.685
1%
41 Tshabalala 110.309
1%
42 Van zyl 110.031
1%
43 Nxumalo 107.776
1%
44 Chauke 103.812
0.9%
45 Ngwenya 103.436
0.9%
46 Cele 102.346
0.9%
47 Du toit 101.199
0.9%
48 Van der merwe 100.825
0.9%
49 Mthethwa 99.131
0.9%
50 Erasmus 97.511
0.9%
51 Louw 97.379
0.9%
52 Ngobeni 93.651
0.8%
53 Van niekerk 92.936
0.8%
54 Joubert 91.542
0.8%
55 Meyer 91.137
0.8%
56 Steyn 90.518
0.8%
57 Ngubane 89.112
0.8%
58 Maluleke 89.002
0.8%
59 Maseko 87.560
0.8%
60 Molefe 85.700
0.8%
61 Mtshali 85.146
0.8%
62 Mabaso 84.533
0.8%
63 Marais 83.196
0.7%
64 Viljoen 81.772
0.7%
65 Potgieter 81.460
0.7%
66 Dube 80.132
0.7%
67 Swanepoel 79.915
0.7%
68 Swart 79.205
0.7%
69 Mkhwanazi 77.971
0.7%
70 Mnisi 77.670
0.7%
71 Zondi 73.932
0.7%
72 Moloi 73.321
0.7%
73 Van rooyen 73.307
0.7%
74 Singh 72.490
0.6%
75 Adams 72.390
0.6%
76 Muller 72.304
0.6%
77 Mchunu 71.375
0.6%
78 Motaung 71.351
0.6%
79 Engelbrecht 69.254
0.6%
80 Hlongwane 68.782
0.6%
81 Zungu 68.399
0.6%
82 Mnguni 68.130
0.6%
83 Olivier 67.465
0.6%
84 Nkuna 67.255
0.6%
85 Hlatshwayo 67.225
0.6%
86 Moodley 66.099
0.6%
87 Shabangu 64.692
0.6%
88 Vilakazi 64.486
0.6%
89 Xaba 64.220
0.6%
90 Shabalala 63.914
0.6%
91 Jansen 63.656
0.6%
92 Malatji 63.611
0.6%
93 Dladla 62.971
0.6%
94 Cloete 62.873
0.6%
95 Roux 62.725
0.6%
96 Barnard 62.513
0.6%
97 Pienaar 62.090
0.6%
98 Visser 62.018
0.6%
99 Hadebe 59.176
0.5%
100 Skosana 58.671
0.5%
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FAQs

What are the most common surnames in South Africa?
According to our official census data, the most common surname in South Africa is Dlamini, with 310.094. registered bearers. This table shows the 100 most frequent surnames in the country.
How many different surnames are registered in South Africa?
Our database contains hundreds of surnames with a presence in South Africa. This table shows the 100 most frequent.
How often is this data updated?
The data is updated periodically from official censuses and civil registries of the country.
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