Most common surnames in South Africa

The top 100 family names, ranked by how many people carry them.

Most common surnames in South Africa
Rank	Surname	Origin & meaning	People
1	Dlamini	—	310,094
2	Nkosi	—	300,929
3	Ndlovu	—	281,656
4	Khumalo	—	273,217
5	Sithole	—	216,358
6	Mahlangu	—	215,528
7	Mokoena	—	209,762
8	Mkhize	—	173,326
9	Mthembu	—	171,793
10	Zulu	—	165,568
11	Ngcobo	—	163,802
12	Gumede	—	163,265
13	Naidoo	—	153,887
14	Buthelezi	—	149,129
15	Khoza	—	143,494
16	Sibiya	—	133,461
17	Jacobs	—	130,364
18	Govender	—	129,771
19	Mofokeng	—	129,329
20	Botha	—	128,008
21	Mhlongo	—	126,648
22	Smith	English · “metalworker”	125,534
23	Baloyi	—	124,602
24	Mbatha	—	121,567
25	Pillay	—	121,424
26	Radebe	—	119,966
27	Mathebula	—	114,416
28	Ntuli	—	113,766
29	Zwane	—	112,699
30	Mazibuko	—	111,243
31	Tshabalala	—	110,309
32	Nxumalo	—	107,776
33	van Wyk	—	106,985
34	Williams	Welsh · “son of William”	106,885
35	Chauke	—	103,812
36	Ngwenya	—	103,436
37	Cele	—	102,346
38	van der Merwe	—	100,825
39	Mthethwa	—	99,131
40	Dubé	—	95,974
41	Ngobeni	—	93,651
42	Pretorius	—	89,359
43	Ngubane	—	89,112
44	Maluleke	—	89,002
45	Maseko	—	87,560
46	du Plessis	—	86,080
47	Molefe	—	85,700
48	Mtshali	—	85,146
49	Mabaso	—	84,533
50	Nel	—	84,016
51	Coetzee	—	83,814
52	Venter	—	78,988
53	Mkhwanazi	—	77,971
54	Fourie	—	77,740
55	Mnisi	—	77,670
56	Adams	English · “son of Adam”	75,697
57	Zondi	—	73,932
58	Moloi	—	73,321
59	Smit	—	72,776
60	Mchunu	—	71,375
61	Motaung	—	71,351
62	Louw	—	70,966
63	Hlongwane	—	68,782
64	van Zyl	—	68,529
65	Zungu	—	68,399
66	Mnguni	—	68,130
67	Nkuna	—	67,255
68	Hlatshwayo	—	67,225
69	Moodley	—	66,099
70	Krüger	—	65,220
71	Shabangu	—	64,692
72	Vilakazi	—	64,486
73	Xaba	—	64,220
74	Shabalala	—	63,914
75	Malatji	—	63,611
76	Dladla	—	62,971
77	du Toit	—	60,711
78	Erasmus	—	60,680
79	van Niekerk	—	60,361
80	Meyer	German · “steward, tenant farmer”	60,306
81	Hadebe	—	59,176
82	Skosana	—	58,671
83	Abrahams	—	57,418
84	Singh	Indian (Sanskrit) · “lion”	57,300
85	Majola	—	55,382
86	Mohlala	—	53,842
87	Davids	—	53,829
88	Kekana	—	53,711
89	Kunene	—	53,266
90	Xulu	—	53,248
91	Khanyile	—	53,081
92	Cloete	—	52,974
93	Zuma	—	52,855
94	Simelane	—	52,261
95	van Rooyen	—	52,197
96	Booysen	—	52,009
97	Mudau	—	51,151
98	Langa	—	50,952
99	Nhlapo	—	50,874
100	Modise	—	50,411

Source: Forebears (non-official). Rankings are updated when the publisher releases new data.

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