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Most Common Greek Last Name

What is the Most Common Greek Last Name or Surname?

Have you ever wondered what the most common Greek last name or surname is? Well, it’s time to wonder no more.

Not only will you uncover what the most common Greek last name is in this article, but you will also learn what it means and why it is the most common Greek last name in Greece and throughout the Greek diaspora.

How did the most common Greek last name or surname start?

Firstly, it’s important to understand how Greek last names came about. Although Greece is one of the oldest known civilisations in our cosmos, unlike China, Greeks didn’t have last names over three thousand years ago. So you see, the most common Greek last name is fairly new in comparison to our oriental counterparts.

It was only in the 11th and 12th centuries that wealthy Greek families began to use last names. Click here to learn more about the history and ancestry of your Greek last name.

Why are common Greek last names so long?

When people think of Greek last names, they generally think of something ending –opoulopoulos… and maybe add in a few more -opouloses for good satire. Either way, it’s always a very long last name.

If you, like many other Greeks, have a very long last name, then you may likely faced some of the common problems growing up such as people mispronouncing your name, struggling to fit your name in last name fields and forms, and potentially even experienced some form of bullying.

Why are common Greek last names so long? Papastathopoulos jersey example.
Papastathopoulos jersey - an example of long common Greek last names

Have you ever wondered why common Greek last names are so long?

Well, there are a number of reasons:

  1. Common Greek last names often have a suffix that determines their geographic origin (you’ll see what I mean further down in the article).
  2. Common Greek last names often have a prefix that mean something. The prefix could mean “son of”, “priest’s son” or many other meanings. Click here to see common Greek last name prefix meanings.
  3. Some Greek last names are also derived from Ancient Greek names, and, guess what? Yes, that’s right, they were also very long.
  4. The body of some Greek last names refer to professions.
  5. Other Greek last names are derived from nicknames.

So you see, when you have a word, that has a prefix meaning something, a body meaning something, and a suffix meaning something… it tends to form a long word!

Ok, I know what you’re thinking… the suspense is killing me!

Don’t worry, I won’t leave you hanging. Below is the main reason you began to read this article and what you’ve been waiting to find out…

The most common Greek last name

The most common Greek last name is Papadopoulos.

That’s right, there are over 59,000 people in Greece with the last name Papadopoulos. This means about 0.55% of the population in Greece have the last name Papadopoulos.

What does the last name Papadopoulos mean?

Now that you know the most common Greek last name, it’s important to find out what it means.

As mentioned above, you can often determine the meaning of common Greek last names by breaking them down.

If we split Papadopoulos into the prefix Papa- and suffix –opoulos we can easily find the meaning of this surname. The prefix Papa- means priest and the suffix –opoulos means son of or descendant of.

So, (in the words of Gus Portokalos) there you go.

Papadopoulos means “son of a priest”.

So, why is this the most common Greek last name? Well, there were (and still are today) a lot of priests in Greece. Of course, in the Orthodox Christian faith, unlike in other Christian denominations, priests are able to marry and have children. Therefore, when most Greek last names were formed, there were a lot of priests with sons. Surnames ending in –opoulos also often indicate that they originated in the Peloponnese.

Click here to find out the meanings of more common Greek last names.

What do you think of the most common Greek last name?

Are you surprised about the result?

Did you expect Papadopoulos to be the most common Greek last name?

Or did you have another Greek last name in mind?

You might have been close.

Maybe one of the following common Greek last names were on your mind…

What are some other common Greek last names?

The second most common Greek last name, is in fact, another form of Papadopoulos.

The second most common Greek last name is Papadopoulou, with almost 38,000 people having the last name Papadopoulou. Other common Greek last names include:

  • Papageorgiou
  • Oikonomou
  • Papadimitriou
  • Georgiou
  • Papaioannou
  • Pappas
  • Vasileiou
  • Nikolaou
  • Karagiannis
  • Vlachos
  • Antoniou
  • Makris
  • Papanikolaou
  • Dimitriou
  • Ioannidis
  • Georgiadis
  • Triantafyllou
  • Papadakis
  • Athanasiou
  • Konstantinidis
  • Ioannou
  • Alexiou
  • Christodoulou
  • Theodorou
  • Giannopoulos

There are more than 10,000 people bearing each of the last names listed above in Greece.

Who are some of the most popular people with Greek last name Papadopoulos?

As you would imagine, with Papadopoulos being the most common Greek last name, there have been many popular people throughout history that have carried the last name Papadopoulos.

Some of them popular for all the right reasons… and some of them popular for all the wrong reasons.

Some of them popular for their sporting achievements, some for their political careers, and others for their work in various fields.

Check out our list of popular people with the Greek last name Papadopoulos below.

George Papadopoulos

Arguably the most well-known on the list is former Dictator, Colonel, Prime Minister of Greece, and President of Greece – George Papadopoulos. He was a Lieutenant in the Hellenic Army during World War II. After the occupation of Greece under Axis powers, Papadopoulos actively collaborated with Axis powers and the Axis Collaborationist Government of Greece, hunting down Greek resistance fighters.

Post World War II, Papadopoulos was promoted to Captain and later Colonel in the Hellenic Army. He was the head of a military coup d’état, seizing power of Greece on the 21st of April, 1967. In 1973, Papadopoulos was overthrown and in 1974 Greece was restored to a democracy. After standing trial for high treason, mutiny, torture, and a number of other crimes – George Papadopoulos was sentenced to death, which was later overturned to life imprisonment. Papadopoulos died in 1999 from cancer.

People with the most common Greek last name - George Papadopoulos
Former Dictator, Colonel, Prime Minister of Greece, and President of Greece – George Papadopoulos

George Papadopoulos

This George Papadopoulos has recently been in the news for his involvement in the 2016 Donald Trump Presidential Campaign. Born in Chicago to Greek immigrant parents originally from Thessaloniki, Papadopoulos is a member of the Greek diaspora community in the U.S..

Papadopoulos was a member of the foreign policy advisory panel to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. In 2018, Papadopoulos served 12 days in a federal prison on charges relating to making false statements to FBI agents about the timing and the possible significance of his contacts in 2016 relating to U.S. – Russia relations and Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.

People with the most common Greek last name - George Papadopoulos
Trump's former foreign advisor - George Papadopoulos

#FunFact It’s no coincidence that both of the first two people’s name on the list is George Papadopoulos. This is the most common name in Greece. In fact, there are so many people out there with the name George Papadopoulos, that when the aforementioned George Papadopoulos was indicted by the FBI, social media platforms were inundated with posts from other people with the name George Papadopoulos clarifying that it wasn’t them. One hilarious tweet read “No, I’m NOT Trump’s foreign policy adviser or the former dictator of Greece!”.

Common Greek last name mixup
Classic case of mistaken identity. Another Greek American George Papadopoulos getting mixed up.

Kyriakos Papadopoulos

Kyriakos Papadopoulos is a talented professional football player, currently plying his trade with Hamburger SV in Germany. As a central defender or defensive midfielder, Papadopoulos has previously played for Olympiacos, Schalke 04, Bayer Leverkusen, and RB Leipzig. He has also represented the Greek national team on 29 occasions and scored 4 goals.

People with the most common Greek last name - Kyriakos Papadopoulos
Footballer - Kyriakos Papadopoulos

Avraam Papadopoulos

Avraam Papadopoulos is another very talented professional football player, currently plying his trade with Olympiacos. As a central defender, Papadopoulos has previously played for Aris, Trabzonspor, Shanghai Shenhua, Jubilo Iwata, and Brisbane Roar. He has also represented the Greek national team on 37 occasions.

Having been born in Melbourne, Australia and recently living in Brisbane, Australia during his time for Brisbane Roar (2017-2019) – Papadopoulos is also a member of the Greek diaspora in Australia.

People with the most common Greek last name - Avraam Papadopoulos
Footballer - Avraam Papadopoulos

Dimitris Papadopoulos

Dimitris Papadopoulos is another talented professional football player, having retired in 2017. As a striker, Papadopoulos has played for Akratitos, Burnley, Panathinaikos, Lecce, Dinamo Zagreb, Celta Vigo, Levadiakos, Panthrakikos, Atromitos, PAOK, and Panetolikos. He has also represented the Greek national team on 22 occasions, scoring 2 goals.

People with the most common Greek last name - Dimitris Papadopoulos
Footballer - Dimitris Papadopoulos

Lazaros Papadopoulos

Another athlete on the list, Lazaros Papadopoulos is a professional basketball player, having retired in 2014. As a center, Papadopoulos has played for Iraklis, Panathinaikos, Dynamo Moscow, Real Madrid, Fortitudo Bologna, PAOK, Khimki, Olympiacos, and Canarias.

Papadopoulos has also represented the Greek national team on 103 occasions and is a member of the iconic national team that won the 2005 EuroBasket as well as winning a silver medal in the 2006 FIBA World Championship (beating the U.S. “dream team” along the way).

People with the most common Greek last name - Lazaros Papadopoulos
Basketballer - Lazaros Papadopoulos

Dimitrios Papadopoulos

Dimitrios Papadopoulos was a Lieutenant General in the Hellenic Army. Born in Nafplio in 1889, after completing school, Papadopoulos entered the Hellenic Army in 1912. Only a few months after joining the army, the Balkan Wars erupted and Papadopoulos fought in both the First and Second Balkan Wars. Then in 1917, he fought in World War I, receiving the Greek War Cross, the French Croix de Guerre, and the Belgian Croix de Guerre. Papadopoulos also fought in the subsequent Greco-Turkish War of 1919-1922, receiving the Cross of Valour in Gold.

Papadopoulos is best known however, for his leadership during World War II. With the invasion of the far larger Italian army catapulting Greece into the war, Papadopoulos played a pivotal role in not only defending Greece’s border, but also leading the counter offensive, capturing much of Northern Epirus and driving Italy deep into Albania. Following the German invasion and subsequent occupation of Greece by the Axis powers, Papadopoulos, along with a number of other generals, attempted to organize and lead the Greek Resistance. Following World War II, Papadopoulos was awarded the Medal for Outstanding Acts, his second Valour in Gold, and the Grand Cross of the Order of George I. Dimitrios Papadopoulos died in 1983 aged 93.

Gregory Papadopoulos

Greg Papadopoulos is a Greek American engineer, executive, and venture capitalist. He’s known for developing the Redshift theory – a techno-economic theory suggesting hyper-segmentation of information technology markets, based on whether individual computing needs are over or under-served by Moore’s law. The Redshift theory predicts the doubling of computing transistors every two years.

People with the most common Greek last name - Greg Papadopoulos
Engineer, executive, and venture capitalist - Greg Papadopoulos

Efstathios Papadopoulos

Efstathios, better known as – Tassos Papadopoulos, was the fifth President of Cyprus, between 2003 and 2008. Papadopoulos died at the end of 2008 from small cell lung carcinoma, less than a month before his 75th birthday.

People with the most common Greek last name - Tassos Papadopoulos
The fifth President of Cyprus - Tassos Papadopoulos

Linda Papadopoulos

Linda Papadopoulos is a Greek Canadian psychologist and media personality. Papadopoulos has a PhD in psychology and hosted the TV series My Naked Secret. Being born in Toronto, Canada and moving to the United Kingdom for her studies and later TV series, Papadopoulos is a member of both the Greek diasporas in Canada and the United Kingdom.

People with the most common Greek last name - Linda Papadopoulos
Psychologist and media personality - Linda Papadopoulos

Identifying where your Greek last name might have originated from

#FunFact Did you know that with some common Greek last names, it’s possible to identify the origin of the last name just by looking at the surname suffix (ending)?

Here are some examples of this:

  • Greek last name ending in –opoulos, likely originated in the Peloponnese
    • This means that the most common Greek last name – Papadopoulos, likely originated in the Peloponnese
  • Greek last name ending in –akis, likely originated in Crete
  • Greek last name ending in –ellis, likely originated in Lesvos
  • Greek last name ending in – idis, likely originated in Pontus or Asia Minor
  • Greek last name ending in – iadis, likely originated in Messinia or Lakonia
  • Greek last name ending in – oudas, likely originated in Macedonia

Click here to see more suffixes and learn how to identify the location where your Greek last name originated.

So, tell me, do you know someone with the common Greek last name Papadopoulos?

Maybe your last name is Papadopoulos? I mean, statistically, it is about 0.55% likely.

Chances are, you’re likely related to someone with the last name Papadopoulos…even if you don’t know it yet! Are you keen to find out?

Why not take a DNA test and begin tracing your ancestry?

There are a number of DNA tests available but the most common, with the most data, and the most trusted of them all is Ancestry.com 

Click here to order your DNA test
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