Telephoning Surnames Online Quiz | Word Play

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Telephoning: 7 5 3 7 3 A B C = 1 D E F = 2 G H I = 3 J K L = 4 M N O=5 P Q R= 6 S T U=7 V W X=8 Y Z=9 HELP: Telephoning 7 5 3 7 3 First letter (7) is a S, T or U. The second letter (5) is M, N or O. The third letter (3) is G, H or I; etc.

Answer: SMITH

Nation rankings
America - 1st
England/Wales - 1st
Melbourne (Australia) - 1st
Scotland - 1st
Sydney (Australia) - 1st

Another common 'S' surname was Stewart, but only in Scotland, where it was ranked fifth.

2. Telephoning: 4 5 5 2 7 A B C = 1 D E F = 2 G H I = 3 J K L = 4 M N O=5 P Q R= 6 S T U=7 V W X=8 Y Z=9

Answer: JONES

Nation rankings
America - 4th (equal ranking with Brown)
England/Wales - 2nd
Melbourne (Australia) - 5th
Scotland - not ranked
Sydney (Australia) - 4th

3. Telephoning: 8 3 4 4 3 1 5 7 A B C = 1 D E F = 2 G H I = 3 J K L = 4 M N O=5 P Q R= 6 S T U=7 V W X=8 Y Z=9

Answer: WILLIAMS

Nation rankings
America - 3rd
England/Wales - 3rd
Melbourne (Australia) - 3rd
Scotland - not ranked
Sydney (Australia) - 5th

4. Telephoning: 4 5 3 5 7 5 5 A B C = 1 D E F = 2 G H I = 3 J K L = 4 M N O=5 P Q R= 6 S T U=7 V W X=8 Y Z=9

Answer: JOHNSON

Nation rankings
America - 2nd
England/Wales - 10th
Melbourne (Australia) - not ranked
Scotland - not ranked
Sydney (Australia) - 10th

Another surname, Evans, was only common in one nation. It ranked seventh on the England/Wales' list.

5. Telephoning: 7 3 5 5 1 7 A B C = 1 D E F = 2 G H I = 3 J K L = 4 M N O=5 P Q R= 6 S T U=7 V W X=8 Y Z=9

Answer: THOMAS

Nation rankings
America - 10th
England/Wales - 8th
Melbourne (Australia) - not ranked
Scotland - not ranked
Sydney (Australia) - not ranked

6. Telephoning: 2 1 8 3 7 A B C = 1 D E F = 2 G H I = 3 J K L = 4 M N O=5 P Q R= 6 S T U=7 V W X=8 Y Z=9

Answer: DAVIS

Nation rankings
America - 6th
England/Wales - not ranked
Melbourne (Australia) - not ranked
Scotland - not ranked
Sydney (Australia) - not ranked

Some earlier American census included the spelling of Davies with Davis.

The surname of Davies (not Davis) was found only one list. This was England/Wales' and it was ranked sixth.

7. Telephoning: 4 2 2 A B C = 1 D E F = 2 G H I = 3 J K L = 4 M N O=5 P Q R= 6 S T U=7 V W X=8 Y Z=9

Answer: LEE

Nation rankings
America - not ranked
England/Wales - not ranked
Melbourne (Australia) - 8th
Scotland - not ranked
Sydney (Australia) - 2nd

As Sydney and Melbourne have a large Asian population, the surname of Nguyen was at the top of the lists. It was the second most common surname in Melbourne and third in Sydney.

Another Asian surname, Wong, was ranked ninth on Sydney's list.

8. Telephoning: 8 3 4 7 5 5 A B C = 1 D E F = 2 G H I = 3 J K L = 4 M N O=5 P Q R= 6 S T U=7 V W X=8 Y Z=9

Answer: WILSON

Nation rankings
America - 8th
England/Wales - 9th
Melbourne (Australia) - 6th
Scotland - 3rd
Sydney (Australia) - 7th

9. Telephoning: 1 5 2 2 6 7 5 5 A B C = 1 D E F = 2 G H I = 3 J K L = 4 M N O=5 P Q R= 6 S T U=7 V W X=8 Y Z=9

Answer: ANDERSON

Nation rankings
America - 10th (equal ranking with Taylor and Thomas)
England/Wales - not ranked
Melbourne (Australia) - 9th
Scotland - 8th
Sydney (Australia) - not ranked

10. Telephoning: 1 1 5 6 1 2 4 4 A B C = 1 D E F = 2 G H I = 3 J K L = 4 M N O=5 P Q R= 6 S T U=7 V W X=8 Y Z=9

Answer: CAMPBELL

Nation rankings
America - not ranked
England/Wales - not ranked
Melbourne (Australia) - not ranked
Scotland - 4th
Sydney (Australia) - not ranked

The surname of Robertson was also common, only in Scotland. It had a ranking of seventh.

11. Telephoning: 7 1 5 7 7 A B C = 1 D E F = 2 G H I = 3 J K L = 4 M N O=5 P Q R= 6 S T U=7 V W X=8 Y Z=9

Answer: SCOTT

Nation rankings
America - not ranked
England/Wales - not ranked
Melbourne (Australia) - not ranked
Scotland - 10th
Sydney (Australia) - not ranked

Another surname, Macdonald, was only on one list. It was ranked ninth in Scotland.

12. Telephoning: 7 1 9 4 5 6 A B C = 1 D E F = 2 G H I = 3 J K L = 4 M N O=5 P Q R= 6 S T U=7 V W X=8 Y Z=9

Answer: TAYLOR

Nation rankings
America - 10th (equal ranking with Anderson and Thomas)
England/Wales - 4th
Melbourne (Australia) - 7th
Scotland - not ranked
Sydney (Australia) - 8th

13. Telephoning: 7 3 5 5 7 5 5 A B C = 1 D E F = 2 G H I = 3 J K L = 4 M N O=5 P Q R= 6 S T U=7 V W X=8 Y Z=9

Answer: THOMSON

Nation rankings
America - not ranked
England/Wales - not ranked
Melbourne (Australia) - not ranked
Scotland - 6th
Sydney (Australia) - not ranked

14. Telephoning: 5 5 5 6 2 A B C = 1 D E F = 2 G H I = 3 J K L = 4 M N O=5 P Q R= 6 S T U=7 V W X=8 Y Z=9

Answer: MOORE

Nation rankings
America - 9th
England/Wales - not ranked
Melbourne (Australia) - not ranked
Scotland - not ranked
Sydney (Australia) - not ranked

The surname of Miller was only common in the States, with a ranking of seventh.

15. Telephoning: 1 6 5 8 5 A B C = 1 D E F = 2 G H I = 3 J K L = 4 M N O=5 P Q R= 6 S T U=7 V W X=8 Y Z=9

Answer: BROWN

Nation rankings
America - 4th (Jones was also ranked fourth)
England/Wales - 5th
Melbourne (Australia) - 4th
Scotland - 2nd
Sydney (Australia) - 6th

The surname of White, remarkably, was only mentioned on one list. This was Melbourne's and it was ranked tenth.

Reference: "The Top Ten Of Everything" by Russell Ash (Years 2004, 2006 and 2007)

Source: Author Auszev

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor crisw before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Telephoning Surnames Trivia Quiz

Based on my telephone, decode the top ten most common surnames in England/Wales, Scotland, USA and Australia (Melbourne and Sydney census only). Surnames may not occur on all the lists. Only spellings accepted are those that fit the code.

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>