British Americans are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in the United Kingdom (England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland). People seldom use the term to describe themselves (1,172,050 chose it in the 2009 American Community Survey); it is primarily a demographic or historical research category. According to American Community Survey in 2009, Americans reporting British ancestry are 40,234,652, or 13.0% of the total U.S. population, a significant drop from the 1980 United States Census where 49,598,035 reported as having English ancestry and 61,311,449 reported as having British ancestry. Using the self reported 2010 census figures British Americans are the second largest European ancestry group after German Americans. However, this figure is likely an undercount, as a large proportion of Americans of British descent tend not to claim British ancestry or identify solely with other ancestry. Eight out of the ten most common surnames in the United States are of British origin.