3. WHAT IS THE MOST COMMON COLOUR-BASED SURNAME?

Brown, by a long way in Englishspeaking countries. It is the fourth most common surname in America, Australia and New Zealand and the fifth most common in Canada and Britain. Brown is followed by White, and then Green, Gray/Grey, Black, Scarlet and Blue. The surnames Reid, Read, Reed and Reade all come from the Old English ‘Red’.