Guess which is the most popular surname in Greece?

You probably guessed it, Papadopoulos, my surname, is the most popular surname in Greece according to the World Atlas.

Although the most popular in Greece, it is also used in Cyprus and countries of the Greek diaspora as well, such as the USA, United Kingdom, Australia and Scandinavian countries. Its female version corresponds to the masculine genitive Papadopoulou.

And if you're wondering what it means, it is a composite of two words, 'papas' meaning priest and 'poulos' the ancient Greek word for 'offspring'.  Other cultures have the equivalent 'child of' 'son of' endings to their surnames, think Williamson.

The fascinating history of surnames never ceases to amaze, with many having originated from trades, professionals to traits and characteristics.

For example the most common last name in the United Kingdom is Smith which comes from an Old English word meaning “metal worker."

Following the most popular names in various countries:

Albania Hoxha
Andorra Garcia
Armenia Grigoryan
Austria Gruber
Belarus Ivanov
Belgium Peeters
Bosnia & Herzegovina Hodžić
Bulgaria Ivanov
Croatia Horvat
Cyprus Georgiou
Czech Republic Nováková
Denmark Jensen
Estonia Tamm
Finland Korhonen
France Martin
Germany Müller
Greece Papadopoulos
Hungary Nagy
Iceland Jónsdóttir
Ireland Murphy
Italy Rossi
Kosovo Krasniqi
Latvia Bërzinš
Lichtenstein Büchel
Lithuania Kazlauskas
Luxembourg Schmit
Macedonia Stojanovski
Malta Borg
Moldova Rusu
Monaco Rossi
Montenegro Popović
Netherlands De Jong
Norway Hansen
Poland Nowak
Portugal Silva
Romania Popa
Serbia Jovanović
Slovakia Varga
Slovenia Novak
Spain Garcia
Sweden Anderson
Switzerland Müller
Turkey Yilmaz
Ukraine Melnik
United Kingdon Smith