Best

Best is the 934th most common surname in the United States, shared by 36,602 people at the 2020 census. That is about one person in 8,166.

By the numbers

People: 36,602
Rank: 934th
How common: 1 in 8,166
Per 100,000: 12.3

Where the name comes from

From German Beste (“a river in Germany”) or from Anglo-Norman beste (“beast”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, used under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Who bears the name

How people with the surname Best described their own race and Hispanic origin at the 2020 census:

White, not Hispanic 69.1%
Black, not Hispanic 22.1%
Two or more races, not Hispanic 3.9%
Hispanic or Latino 3.6%
Asian or Pacific Islander, not Hispanic 0.7%
American Indian or Alaska Native, not Hispanic 0.6%

Notable people called Best

George Best (1946–2005)Northern Irish footballer
Pete Best (born 1941)British musician, former member of the Beatles
Ahmed Best (born 1973)American actor
Charles Herbert Best (1899–1978)medical scientist, co-discoverer of insulin
James Best (1926–2015)American actor, musician, artist
Leon Best (born 1986)Irish footballer
Werner Best (1903–1989)German general
Eve Best (born 1971)British actress

People named Best with articles in the most Wikipedia languages. Data from Wikidata (CC0).

Surnames like Best

Try it on yourself

Source: US Census Bureau, Frequently Occurring Surnames, 2020. The Census describes the file as the surnames borne by 100 or more people; rarer names are not published. The line is not quite exact, and 617 published names come in under it, the smallest at 92 people. Race and Hispanic origin are self-reported. Rates are worked out against the 298.9 million people the file's own figures are calculated on, which is fewer than the census counted in all: the difference is everyone whose surname was too rare to publish.