Smith, Johnson, and Williams - America's Most Common Last Names All In One Quiz
Written by Tom Cohen
Last updated · 9 min play time
Smith, Johnson, and Williams are the three most common last names in America. They appear in business, entertainment, politics, and more! This quiz tests your knowledge of people in America who have one of these three last names.
It goes Smith, Johnson, and Williams. In that order. The most common last names in the U.S. Each of them currently has more than 1.5 million people sharing that name, and of course that includes some of America's most famous people of all-time. From Will Smith to Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson to Venus Williams, there are a lot of celebrities to choose from.
In this quiz, we'll ask you questions about some of these celebrities with these last names. The only thing they have in common - other than their celebrity - is the totally generic nature of their surnames. But this quiz is anything but generic. Let's go!
Quiz written by
Tom CohenI'm a 3-time Emmy-winning game show producer, writer, director and published author. I dig traveling, watching hockey, photographing wildlife and exploring the cultural and social fabric of society.
Popular Last Names Quiz Questions
20 Questions · 66 Plays · No comments
Question 1
Let's start with Will Smith. In 1992, he and DJ Jazzy Jeff became the first rap artists to win a Grammy Award. Name the song for which they took home the statue.
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A"I Think I Can Beat Mike Tyson"
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B"Parents Just Don't Understand"
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C"Summertime"
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D"Ring My Bell"
"Summertime"
At the 1992 Grammy Awards, Smith and his partner DJ Jazzy Jeff took home the Grammy for Rap Performance for a Duo or Group for the song "Summertime". It was from their album <i>Homebase</i>. Smith went off on his own as a solo artist in 1997.
Question 2
Moving on to a Johnson, as in Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Truly a Dwayne of all trades, on what sitcom did he once play his own father, Rocky Johnson?
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AThe Office
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BThird Rock from The Sun
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C30 Rock
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DThat '70s Show
That '70s Show
Johnson portrayed his father Rocky in season one of the show, with the episode titled "That Wrestling Show". The episode debuted in 1999, in the midst of The Rock's career, but that particular show was actually set in 1977.
Question 3
Here's a question about a Williams. Two of them, actually. We all know that Serena is the little sister of Venus, but about how many months separate their two birthdays?
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A35 months
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B15 months
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C5 months
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D25 months
15 months
Venus was born in June, 1980, and Serena arrived on the scene just 15 months later in September, 1981. As soon as they could walk, they were being trained in tennis by their parents Richard Williams and Oracene Price.
Question 4
Known as the "punk poet laureate" for songs like "Because the Night," musician Patti Smith lived with and shared a complicated relationship with what famed artist?
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AJasper Johns
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BRobert Mapplethorpe
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CAndy Warhol
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DDavid Hockney
Robert Mapplethorpe
Smith sat for famous photographer Mapplethorpe multiple times, and she would become one of his most frequent subjects. His photos landed on the covers of both <i>Witt</i>, her 1973 volume of poetry, and her 1975 album <i>Horses</i>.
Question 5
Our 36th president had the last name Johnson - Lyndon B. to be exact. Which of these is NOT true about Lyndon B. Johnson?
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AHe was second only to Lincoln in presidential height
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BHe had a cat named Baines at the White House
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CHe was a Congressman, Senate Majority Leader, VP, and President
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DHe was born and raised in Texas
He had a cat named Baines at the White House
For someone who ascended to the presidency by chance, LBJ had a very active presidency, and his rise was noteworthy, having served in many offices along the way from his humble beginnings near Stonewall, Texas. He did not have a cat named Baines. Baines was his middle name. He did have two beagles, however, named Him and Her.
Question 6
You can't talk Williams without Robin Williams. Forming a lifelong bond with the comedian when they met years earlier, what animal visibly mourned Robin Williams' death when she learned about it in 2014?
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AGrumpy Cat
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BBo Obama
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CKoko the Gorilla
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DAmerican Pharoah (the horse)
Koko the Gorilla
In 2001, Williams visited Koko the gorilla. Her caregivers had shown her one of his movies, and she seemed to recognize him. Koko repeatedly signed for Williams to tickle her. Williams described the encounter this way: “We shared something extraordinary: laughter."
Question 7
You don't get more American sounding than Jimmie Johnson. A seven-time NASCAR champion, Johnson drives what car for Hendrick Motorsports?
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ACamaro
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BMustang
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CTesla Model 3
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DCorvette
Camaro
Johnson's car for Hendrick Motorsports is a Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. Over the course of his racing career, he's won a total of 84 NASCAR races, 83 of which were in the Cup Series.
Question 8
Sometimes Smiths are created, not born. Which of the following Smith-lebrities was born Shaffer Chimere Smith?
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AEminem
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B50 Cent
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CNas
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DNe-Yo
Ne-Yo
Ne-Yo was born Shaffer Chimere Smith, but got his stage name from producer Big D Evans, who worked with Smith. The name came about because Evans claimed that Ne-Yo sees music like the character Neo sees the Matrix.
Question 9
Believe it or not, the most Oscar-nominated person alive is a Williams. Which of the following movies was NOT scored by the legendary composer John Williams?
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AGladiator
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BSchindler's List
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CE.T., The Extra Terrestrial
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DJurassic Park
E.T., The Extra Terrestrial
John Williams has scored over 100 films, but not <i>Gladiator</i>, which was scored by the equally talented Hans Zimmer. Williams has been nominated for more than 50 Academy Awards.
Question 10
Gymnast Shawn Johnson made history when she won silver and her teammate Nastia Liukin won gold in the all-around competition at which of the following Olympic games?
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A2004, Athens
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B2010, Vancouver
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C2012, London
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D2008, Beijing
2008, Beijing
In Beijing, Johnson competed in all four events during the team competition. She won the silver medal in floor exercise and a gold medal on the balance beam apparatus. Overall, she and her American teammates made history by taking gold and silver in the all-around, a first for American women.
Question 11
Before his untimely death in 2003, Elliott Smith was the master of dreamy downbeat emo music. What 1990s movie soundtrack brought Smith to prominence with the song "Miss Misery"?
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AEver After
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BTwister
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CWilliam Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet
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DGood Will Hunting
Good Will Hunting
Fellow Portland native and director of <i>Good Will Hunting</i> Gus Van Sant chose Smith to write the music for the movie. Quoted in an article from the <i>Boston Herald</i>, Van Sant said "I had heard [Elliott Smith’s] music when I was doing <i>To Die For</i>. Or no, I actually had a record that a friend of ours had given us, because I was looking for something that was really raw."
Question 12
Don't worry, we didn't forget about the Johnson named Magic. Born with the name Earvin, Johnson earned his famous nickname when he only 15 playing for Everett High School in what U.S. city?
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ABaltimore, Maryland
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BGary, Indiana
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CSacramento, California
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DLansing, Michigan
Lansing, Michigan
Magic is famously from Lansing, the home of Michigan State, where he went on to play college ball. At Everett High School, Johnson really stood out, and Fred Stabley Jr., a sports writer for the Lansing State Journal, gave him the moniker "Magic".
Question 13
Breaking news: this next question is about Brian Williams. In an otherwise storied career, Williams was suspended from NBC Nightly News in 2015 for "misrepresenting events" that had previously occurred when he was covering what?
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AHurricane Katrina
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BThe shooting of Cedric the Lion
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CIraq War
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DThe death of Michael Jackson
Iraq War
Williams was accused of and admitted to changing his story about taking fire while reporting in Iraq. As reported in <i>USA Today</i>, "NBC anchor Brian Williams has told many different versions of a story about being 'embedded' with soldiers in 2003 and being on a Chinook helicopter that was attacked by a rocket-propelled grenade."
Question 14
There's a college named Williams, and also one named Smith, named for its founder Sophia Smith. As a liberal arts school for women, Smith is the largest in a group of school called The Seven Sisters. Which school is NOT a sister to Smith?
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AWellesley College
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BBryn Mawr College
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CBarnard College
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DCollege of William & Mary
College of William & Mary
The Seven Sisters colleges are highly selective and prestigious liberal arts colleges in the Northeastern U.S., of which Smith is a member. While they are historically women's colleges, two of them, Vassar and Radcliffe admitted men eventually. The 7th is Mount Holyoke.
Question 15
Following the footsteps of fellow '80s actor Rick Springfield, Miami Vice star Don Johnson had some hit records. Which of these songs was a top 5 hit for him in 1986?
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AAffair of the Heart
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BAll I Need
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CYou Belong to the City
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DHeartbeat
Heartbeat
"Heartbeat" was a big hit for Don Johnson in 1986, from the album with the same name. As quoted in the <i>L.A. Times</i>, Johnson said: "I wanted the record to be modern, tough rock and I think I achieved that on some level." Sure you did, Don. Sure you did.
Question 16
When it comes to gossip, nobody cornered the market like Liz Smith, becoming the only columnist ever to have her column printed in three major New York City papers at once. Which paper was she NOT published in?
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AThe Daily News
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BNew York Post
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CNewsday
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DNew York Observer
New York Observer
Liz Smith was probably most well-known for her columns about the love life of then real estate mogul Donald Trump when he getting divorced from Ivana. At one point, it was reported that she was the highest-paid print journalist working.
Question 17
Let's go old-school Williams. As a Puritan minister, theologian, and author, there was little that the 17th-century figure Roger Williams didn't do, including founding a state. Name the colony that was created out of the plantations he established.
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ARhode Island
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BMassachusetts
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CDelaware
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DConnecticut
Rhode Island
Roger Williams founded the Providence Plantations, the first settlement in what later became the colony and state of Rhode Island. Williams joined with Dr. John Clarke to leave Massachusetts Bay Colony in order to establish a colony with greater religious freedom.
Question 18
In the 1990s, no clothing line symbolized "self-expression" like Betsey Johnson. What singer famously wore a Betsey Johnson dress in her music video for "Stay (I Missed You)"?
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ACyndi Lauper
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BLil' Kim
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CLisa Loeb
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DCeline Dion
Lisa Loeb
While Lisa Loeb had only a couple of hits, and wasn't on the scene long, that iconic short dress designed by Betsey Johnson was certainly memorable. As Lisa revealed in an interview years later, the dress wasn't actually black; it just looked that way because of the video's dim lighting.
Question 19
Hall-of-Fame running back Emmitt Smith was part of a storied Dallas Cowboys trio called "The Triplets", along with Troy Aikman and what receiver?
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ATony Hill
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BBob Hayes
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CDez Bryant
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DMichael Irvin
Michael Irvin
Emmitt Smith was on the Cowboys from 1990 to 2002, and during his tenure, they won three Super Bowls. "The Triplets" were a highly-prolific trio which generated a lot of offense for Dallas: Aikman at QB, Smith at RB, and Irvin as WR.
Question 20
Just a year after becoming the first African-American Miss America 1984, Vanessa Williams had to resign her position and turn over her crown. Why?
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ATurns out she cheated to win
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BShe kept missing appearances
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CShe was born overseas
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DNude photos of her came out
Nude photos of her came out
In 1985, Penthouse magazine published unauthorized nude photos of Williams, and the ensuing scandal forced her to resign. 32 years later, Miss America CEO Sam Haskell offered her a public apology during the Miss America 2016 pageant.
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