Rich last names are the product of people who used their hard work, ambition, and connections to build wealth for their families and future generations. Check out our curated lists of the best last names money can buy, starting with our top rich last names.
What are Rich Last Names?
A rich last name is associated with wealth. In some cases, this association is because of what the last name means or its origins. In others, the association came because the people and families who used these last names were notably wealthy. Some of the rich last names in our lists have strong social connotations due to the fame of those who use these last names, while others may be more unique. A rich last name is a great way to make an immediate impression and is perfect for characters with extraordinary ambition.
On this page, you will find comprehensive lists of rich last names. These are sorted by category to help you find the perfect wealthy-sounding surname.
Top 100 Rich Last Names
This list of the top rich last names includes the most recognizable rich last names throughout history. This list is a great starting point for browsing rich last-name options.
- Carrington
- Davenport
- Lancaster
- Courtenay
- Kensington
- Cavendish
- Grosvenor
- Wessex
- Hildebrand
- Winchester
- Canterbury
- Montgomery
- Churchill
- Wadsworth
- Wellington
- Courtland
- Roosevelt
- Princeton
- Coleridge
- Rothschild
- Carmichael
- Goldsmith
- Templeton
- Wainwright
- Hemingway
- Duckworth
- Bloomberg
- Chamberlin
- Latimer
- Wentworth
- Dartagnan
- Truesdale
- Van Buren
- Hampton
- Hilton
- Kendrick
- Mckinley
- Vanderbilt
- Rudolph
- Napier
- Dupree
- StJohn
- Lawton
- Trammell
- Tolliver
- Hennessy
- Whitcomb
- Windsor
- Carnegie
- Chanel
- Falconer
- Bamford
- Bulgari
- Cargill
- Chauncey
- Curzon
- Du Pont
- Gramercy
- Lauder
- Marriott
- Mountbatten
- Pulitzer
- Schroder
- Vuitton
- Dumont
- Onassis
- Barrington
- Lawson
- Wolf
- Forbes
- Lehman
- Chamberlain
- Aragon
- Albrecht
- Barbour
- Barclay
- Upchurch
- Smyth
- Wingate
- Bettencourt
- Tudor
- Waldorf
- Berkeley
- Yardley
- Winthrop
- Mercedes
- Truman
- Berenger
- Bourbon
- De Vere
- Givenchy
- Livingstone
- Harrington
- Mellon
- Orleans
- Hapsburg
- Radley
- Wilberforce
- De la Roche
- Rockefeller
Old Money Rich Last Names
Families with old money have been rich for a long, long time. This list has last names with pedigrees going back generations.
- Broderick
- Buckingham
- Carington
- Chance
- Clarence
- Cromwell
- de Trafford
- Eaton
- Fenwick
- Gilchrist
- Goldman
- Jermyn
- Lynch
- McKinsey
- Merrill
- Oswald
- Shelton
- Spencer
- Stuart
- Sumner
Aristocratic Rich Last Names
These aristocratic names are associated with generational wealth and nobility. Read on to see the richest aristocratic last names in history.
- Algernon
- Auberon
- Carruthers
- Demetrius
- Ferdinand
- Hastings
- Hawthorne
- Heathcliff
- Heinrich
- Horacio
- Jarvis
- Milton
- Nicodemus
- Otto
- Salisbury
- Solomon
- Stirling
- Tennyson
See more Aristocratic Last Names
Unique Rich Last Names
This list of unique rich last names was curated from different eras and nations and has last names with uncommon histories and origins.
- Astor
- Augustin
- Baron
- Beauchamp
- Benedict
- Bond
- Bowman
- Buchanan
- Byron
- Calloway
- Calvert
- Cartier
- Charleston
- Duke
- Dunbar
- Eden
- Ellsworth
- Englebert
- Ewing
- Ferrari
- Fraser
- Hackett
- Hamilton
- Hartman
- Hollister
- Honor
- Keats
- Kingsley
- Kramer
- Langford
- Lauren
- Livingston
- Lockwood
- Middleton
- Montague
- Radford
- Raleigh
- Randolph
- Remington
- Salinger
- Schulz
- Shackelford
- Sloan
- Snowdon
- Somerset
- Sommer
- Soros
- Stanford
- Sterling
- Street
- Washington
- Whittaker
- Whittington
- Willard
- Winslow
- Yale
- Youngblood
Posh Rich Last Names
These rich last names have an extra air of elegance and chic. We’ve included the most fashionable rich last names in this list.
- Aston
- Barron
- Bertram
- Cecil
- Chester
- Christian
- Clement
- Gerard
- Huxley
- Leonard
- Marcus
- Miles
- Nelson
- Rafferty
- Ralph
- Seymour
- Thornton
- Tobias
- Walter
- Wills
- Wolfgang
Rare Rich Last Names
The rare rich last names on this list are likely unfamiliar to most readers, as they are the least-used last names that have a historical connection to wealth. Read on to learn more about these rare rich last names.
- Archibald
- Archimedes
- Atherton
- Ballard
- Bardot
- Bartholomew
- Brinkley
- Caradoc
- Charlton
- Cornelius
- Covington
- Ellington
- Everhart
- Fairchild
- Flemming
- Fulbright
- Garland
- Giles
- Hamlet
- Humphrey
- Ludwig
- Marquis
- McClaren
- Mcpherson
- Palomino
- Peregrine
- Reinhart
- Roderick
- Sandford
- Schultz
- Spaulding
- Warwick
- Wilkinson
- Winchell
- Winterbourne
- Worthington
- Zimmerman
Beautiful Rich Last Names
We found the rich names on this list to be the most beautiful. The way they are spelled or they sound when spoken exudes beauty and wealth.
- Benedicte
- Blakely
- Chambers
- Coulson
- Delaney
- Fitzsimmons
- Hailey
- Kerrigan
- Leopold
- Mackinley
- Ratcliffe
- Sinclair
- Swanson
- Valencia
Strong Rich Last Names
Here are the strongest rich last names held by the bourgeoisie. Some are associated with strength because of the actions of those who had these last names, while others embody the concept of strength.
- Augustine
- Bancroft
- Bayard
- Branson
- Buford
- Chadwick
- Chancellor
- Channing
- Charles
- Chase
- Clinton
- Conrad
- Cornell
- Dalton
- Darcy
- Earnest
- Eldridge
- Ernst
- Fairfax
- Ferguson
- Fitzpatrick
- Fitzwilliam
- Frederick
- Gaines
- Gates
- Hargrove
- Huntington
- Langdon
- Lincoln
- MacArthur
- Maxwell
- Thatcher
- Warfield
- Yates
Cute Rich Last Names
While plenty of rich last names sound like they could buy cute things on their own, these cute rich last names have an intrinsic cuteness that money simply can’t buy.
- Ashby
- Ashton
- Bellamy
- Bristol
- Clemence
- Diamond
- Dior
- Dudley
- Ellison
- Godfrey
- Granville
- Holland
- Kipling
- Laurent
- Lexington
- Lowell
- Marlowe
- Prince
- Sheridan
- Sloane
Cool Rich Last Names
These rich last names are cool enough on their own, if your character buys the coolest cars and clothes, then they will need a last name from this list.
- Ambrose
- Aristotle
- Armani
- Avery
- Beckett
- Bentley
- Boss
- Bourne
- Campbell
- Carter
- Cohen
- Coronado
- Dashiell
- Edison
- Fitzgerald
- Franklin
- Galloway
- Hudson
- Jefferson
- Lysander
- Mackenzie
- Madison
- Marino
- Merritt
- Nixon
- Quinn
- Richmond
- Royce
- Ulysses
- Whitaker
- Willoughby
- Worthy
Last Names for Rich Characters
These last names for characters sound wealthy and rich. If you need a surname for a character that has lots of money, this list is for you.
- Axton
- Buffett
- Camelot
- Connery
- Dickinson
- Easton
- Fillmore
- Fox
- Goodnight
- Gulliver
- Hart
- Homer
- Jasper
- Jensen
- Katz
- Knight
- Lovelace
- Marston
- Mclaren
- Murdoch
- Noble
- Oakley
- Schwab
- Westcott
- Westfall
- Weston
- Whitlock
- Whitmore
- Wilbur
- Wilburn
- Windham
- Wolfe
See more Last Names for Characters
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Famous People with Rich Last Names
Warren Buffett has been an entrepreneur since childhood. He became a billionaire through his work as a stockbroker and his investments. He is one of the richest people in the world. His rich last name comes from the Old French word Buffet, meaning ‘table’.
Michael Bloomberg built his wealth through his work in investment banking. He served as mayor of New York City for three terms. The rich-sounding last name, Bloomberg originates in Germany and means ‘flower-covered hill or mountain’.
Phil Knight was born in Oregon in 1938. He worked as a CPA before co-founding the shoe, fashion, and sporting equipment company Nike, Inc. This classic swoosh carried Knight to billionaire status. His rich last name is a work-based name used by Knight attendants of England.
Charles Schwab launched an investment newsletter in 1963 that would grow to become Charles Schwab & Co., a financial and investment services company that operates around the world. Schwab is a German geographic last name for those who lived in Swabia, a region in southwestern Germany.
Rupert Murdoch is a modern-day magnate, owning hundreds of news outlets around the world through News Corp. The strong-sounding last name of Murdoch comes from an Old Gaelic word meaning ‘sea warrior’.