Common has a daughter, Omoye Assata Lynn (born 1997). Since childhood, he was a member of the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago led by the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Following the controversy over one of Wright's sermons, Common criticized the American news media's coverage of the incident as having "an agenda". He dated Erykah Badu from 2000 - around 2003. Common has found himself in many dating rumors. Aside from Alicia Keys he has also been linked to Serena Williams and actress Taraji P. Henson who played alongside Common and Alicia Keys in Smokin' Aces. Common played the role of Alicia Keys's boyfriend in the music video "Like You'll Never See Me Again" and his own music video "I Want You", making speculations even stronger.

With both artists hailing from the Great Lakes region of the United States (Chicago and Detroit, respectively), Common and J Dilla established their chemistry early on. Both became members of the Soulquarians collective, and collaborated on numero