I'm talking about names like Williams, Jones, Jackson, etc.

As I understand after the emancipation of slaves many freed slaves took the names of their former owners? Are the popularity of these names related to this? Were there prevalent slave owners with these names and this is a product of that history?

I know that it seems like many African American last names have Irish or English origins. I find that fascinating. If you could provide me with any other information or reading material about the origins of American American surnames I'd really appreciate it.