Smith (surname)

Smith is a surname[3] originating in England. It is the most prevalent surname in the United Kingdom,[1][4] Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States,[5] and the fifth most common surname in the Republic of Ireland. The surname Smith is particularly prevalent among those of English, Scottish, and Irish descent,[6] but is also a common surname among African Americans, which can be attributed either to black slaves having been given the surname of their masters, or to being an occupational name, as some southern American black people took this surname to reflect their or their father's trade.[7] 2,442,977 Americans shared the surname Smith at the time of the 2010 census,[8] and more than 500,000 people shared it in the United Kingdom as of 2006.[9] At the turn of the 20th century, the surname was sufficiently prevalent in England to have prompted the statement: "Common to every village in England, north, south, east, and west";[10] and sufficiently common on the (European) continent (in various forms) to be "common in most countries of Europe".[11]

For a list of people with this surname, see List of people with surname Smith.

Smith
A close-up of a blacksmith at work. Smith became a popular last name for those with this occupation
Pronunciation/ˈsmɪθ/
Origin
Word/nameOld English
Meaningderived from smitan, meaning "to smite"
Region of originEngland
Other names
Variant form(s)numerous
[1][2]

Etymology and history

The name refers to a smith, originally deriving from smið or smiþ, the Old English term meaning one who works in metal related to the word smitan, the Old English form of smite, which also meant strike (as in early 17th century Biblical English: the verb "to smite" = to hit). The Old English word smiþ comes from the Proto-Germanic word smiþaz. Smithy comes from the Old English word smiðē from the Proto-Germanic smiðjon. The use of Smith as an occupational surname dates back to Anglo-Saxon times, when inherited surnames were still unknown: Ecceard Smith of County Durham, North East England, was recorded in 975.[12]

Although the name is derived from a common occupation, many later Smiths had no connection to that occupation, but adopted or were given the surname precisely because of its commonness. For example:

  • It is common for people in English-speaking countries to adopt the surname Smith in order to maintain a secret identity, when they wish to avoid being found. Smith is an extremely common name among English Gypsies; see also John Smith.
  • During the colonization of North America, some Native Americans took the name for use in dealing with colonists.
  • During the period of slavery in the United States, many other slaves were known by the surname of their masters, or adopted those surnames upon their emancipation.
  • During the world wars, many German Americans anglicised the common and equivalent German surname Schmidt or Schmitz to Smith to avoid discrimination.
Immigrants arriving at Ellis Island; some chose more "American" surnames, like "Smith", on arrival

A popular misconception holds that at the beginning of the 20th century, when many new immigrants were entering the U.S., civil servants at Ellis Island responsible for cataloging the entry of such persons sometimes arbitrarily assigned new surnames if the immigrants' original surname was particularly lengthy, or difficult for the processor to spell or pronounce. While such claims are likely vastly exaggerated,[13] many immigrants did choose to begin their American lives with more "American" names, particularly with Anglicised versions of their birth names; the German Schmidt was often Anglicized to Smith not only during the world wars, but also commonly in times of peace, and the equivalent Polish Kowalski was Anglicized to Smith as well.

Geographical distribution

As of 2014, 64.3% of all known bearers of the surname Smith were residents of the United States (frequency 1:121), 13.7% of England (1:88), 4.2% of Canada (1:191), 4.0% of Australia (1:130), 3.9% of South Africa (1:295), 1.4% of Scotland (1:84) and 1.0% of Jamaica (1:62).

In Scotland, the frequency of the surname was higher than average (1:84) in the following council areas:

In England, the frequency of the surname was higher than average (1:88) in the following counties:

In the United States, the frequency of the surname was higher than average (1:121) in the following states:[14]

Variations

Variations of the surname Smith also remain very common. These include different spellings of the English name, and versions in other languages.

English variations

There is some disagreement about the origins of the numerous variations of the name Smith. The addition of an e at the end of the name is sometimes considered an affectation, but may have arisen either as an attempt to spell smithy or as the Middle English adjectival form of smith,[15] which would have been used in surnames based on location rather than occupation (in other words, for someone living near or at the smithy).[16]

Likewise, the replacement of the i with a y in Smyth or Smythe is also often considered an affectation but may have originally occurred because of the difficulty of reading blackletter text, where Smith might look like Snuth or Simth.[15] However, Charles Bardsley wrote in 1901, "The y in Smyth is the almost invariable spelling in early rolls, so that it cannot exactly be styled a modern affectation."[10]

Some variants (such as Smijth) were adopted by individuals for personal reasons, while others may have arisen independently or as offshoots from the Smith root. Names such as Smither and Smithers may in some cases be variants of Smith but in others independent surnames based on a meaning of light and active attributed to smyther.[16] Additional derivatives include Smithman, Smithson and Smithfield (see below).[16] Athersmith may derive from at the Smith.[17]

Other variations focus on specialisms within the profession; for example Blacksmith, from those who worked predominantly with iron, Whitesmith, from those who worked with tin (and the more obvious Tinsmith), Brownsmith and Redsmith, from those who worked with copper (Coppersmith and Greensmith; copper is green when oxidised), Silversmith and Goldsmith – and those based on the goods produced, such as Hammersmith, Bladesmith, Naismith (nail-smith), Arrowsmith which in turn was shortened to Arsmith,[18] or Shoesmith (referring to horseshoes).[16] Sixsmith is variant spelling of a sickle- or scythe-smith.[19] Wildsmith in turn is a corruption of wheelsmith[20]

The patronymic practice of attaching son to the end of a name to indicate that the bearer is the child of the original holder has also led to the surnames Smithson and Smisson. Historically, "Smitty" has been a common nickname given to someone with the surname, Smith; in some instances, this usage has passed into "Smitty" being used as a surname itself.[21]

Other languages

Other languages with different words for the occupation of "smith" or "blacksmith" also produced surnames based on that root.

Other Germanic languages

Romance languages

Words derived from the Latin term for smith (literally "one who works with iron"), such as the Italian words fabbro and ferraio, are the root of last names common in several parts of Europe.

Celtic languages

In Ireland and Scotland, the word for smith, gobha, is found in the surname "MacGouren"/MacGouran/MacGowan/McGowan. This surname is an Anglicised form of Mac a' Ghobhainn (Scottish Gaelic), Mac Gabhann (Irish), meaning "son of the smith".[22] In England the surname Goff, which is common in East Anglia, is derived from the Breton and Cornish goff a cognate of the Gaelic gobha. This particular surname was brought to England by migrant Bretons, following the Norman Conquest of England.[23]

Slavic languages

Other European

Other

See also

References

Citations
  1. Services, Good Stuff IT. "Smith surname meaning, origin, etymology and distribution in Great Britain". Britishsurnames.co.uk. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  2. "1990 Census Name Files". 30 March 2005. Archived from the original on 30 March 2005. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  3. "SMITH - Surname Meaning and Origin". Genealogy.about.com. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  4. "UK surnames ranking". Surname Map of UK.
  5. "Genealogy - Frequently Occurring Surnames From Census 2000". 19 November 2007. Archived from the original on 19 November 2007. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  6. Citation: Brooke, 2006.
  7. Franklin Carter Smith, Emily Anne Crom, A Genealogist's Guide to Discovering Your African-American Ancestors (2009), pp. 109–110.
  8. United States Census Bureau. "". 27 December 2016. Accessed 3 November 2019.
  9. "Surname Profiler". Ucl.ac.uk. 18 January 2006. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  10. Bardsley. English and Welsh Surnames. 1901.
  11. Citation: Anderson, 1863.
  12. Citation: Simpson, 2007.
  13. USCIS Home Page Archived 22 December 2005 at the Wayback Machine
  14. Smith surname distribution
  15. Cottle, Basil. Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1967.
  16. Citation: Lower, 1860.
  17. "Surname Database: Athersmith Last Name Origin". The Internet Surname Database. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  18. "Surname Database: Arsmith Last Name Origin". The Internet Surname Database. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  19. "Surname Database: Sixsmith Last Name Origin". The Internet Surname Database. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  20. "Surname Database: Wildsmith Last Name Origin". The Internet Surname Database. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  21. Elsdon Coles Smith, The Book of Smith (1979), p. 195, ISBN 0399503935.
  22. "Mcgowan Name Meaning & Mcgowan Family History at Ancestry.com". Ancestry.com. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  23. "Goff Name Meaning & Goff Family History at Ancestry.com". Ancestry.com. Retrieved 8 October 2018.

Bibliography
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