Top 25 surnames in each state
Malofiej 20 Bronze winner, 2012
CaGIS Best Thematic Map winner, 2011
Information is Beautiful shortlist, 2012
What are the most common last names in each state and where do they originate from? Design editor Oliver Uberti and I found the top 25 most common surnames in each state, with the size of the text representing the quantity, and the color representing the ethnic origin. Under the art direction of Oliver, I plotted each name manually over all the states—good thing tetris was one of my favorite pastimes as a kid!
Our findings were interesting, not only to see the difference in overall population across states, but also to see how historical migrations really shaped the demographics of the country.
Top 25 surnames in each state, 2000, National Geographic Magazine — Copyright © 2011 National Geographic. Reprinted with permission from National Geographic Magazine, February 2011
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