Why is the last name "Washington" so uncommon among White Americans ?

Question:

Why is the last name "Washington" so uncommon among White Americans ?

George Washington was the first President and you would think that today, there would be many Caucasians with the last name just like Johnson, Jones, Murphy, Gibson, etc. And although I've never met a White Washington, I know a few Black ones.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Well, according to recent census report, Washington is the #90 most common last name, about 0.092% of last names in the US. It does not however mention how many Washingtons are African Americans.

As far as the many African-American Washingtons you know... it appears that is a result of the Emancipation Act. "After the conclusion of the Civil War, one of the first things that many freed slaves did was cast aside the names that had been forced upon them by their former masters and adopt new names that reflected their freedom. What the newly freed slaves didn't do was revert to their ancestral names. They were often second- and third-generation descendants of the people who first came to the U.S., and the traditions and cultures of their native countries were long forgotten. Nor was there much new information coming from Africa that could be used to restore their heritage. Given the racial bias that was so strongly in place, the incentive was much greater to use names that were generally accepted and in broad use than those that were too far out of the ordinary."