Imagine tracing your family tree back to medieval kings and discovering it's as common as a Derby hat in Kentucky.
While U.S. surnames often hide royal roots from European nobility, Kentucky hosts surprising numbers of these "crowned" names.
From Plantagenet princes to Tudor queens, here's how 18 royal-linked last names populate Kentucky today.
Here are 18 surnames with connections and an estimate for the number of people in Kentucky who bear the surnames (don’t let me down Perplexity).
NOTES: Estimates from U.S. Census-derived sites like Forebears and MyNameStats (proportional to KY's 1.4% of U.S. pop ~330M).
Noble British Lines
Howard (England, Dukes of Norfolk): ~12,630 in KY
Seymour (England, Dukes of Somerset): ~150 in KY
Percy (England, Dukes of Northumberland): ~40 in KY
Byron (England, Barons Byron): ~50 in KY
Grosvenor (England, Dukes of Westminster): <20 in KY
Fitzroy (England/France, "King's son"): ~30 in KY
Scottish and English Royals
Bruce (Scotland, King Robert the Bruce): ~400 in KY
Campbell (Scotland, powerful clan): ~5,000 in KY
Spencer (England, Earls Spencer): ~700 in KY
York (England, House of York): ~250 in KY
Lancaster (England, House of Lancaster): ~150 in KY
Other Notable Connections
Russell (England, Dukes of Bedford): ~2,000 in KY
Tudor (Wales/England, Tudor dynasty): ~40 in KY
Windsor (England/Germany, current royals): ~100 in KY
Plantagenet (France/England, medieval kings): <10 in KY
Boleyn (England, Anne Boleyn line): ~20 in KY
Stewart/Stuart (Scotland/England, Stewart kings): ~1,000 in KY
Sinclair (Scotland, noble earls): ~100 in KY
