Smith (surname)

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For a list of people with surname Smith, see List of people with surname Smith.
Smith
Family name
Blacksmith at work02.jpg
A close-up of a blacksmith at work. Smith became a popular last name for those with this occupation.
Pronunciation Smith
Meaning derived from smitan meaning to smite or strike
Region of origin England, Ireland and Scotland
Related names numerous
Footnotes: [1]

Smith is the most common family name (surname) in the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States,[2] representing more than 1 out of every 100 persons in each of these countries.[citation needed] It is also the fifth most common surname in Ireland. The surname of Smith is particularly prevalent among those of English and Irish descent,[3] the name being English NS adopted early on by Irish, but has often been taken by non-English natives or immigrants to the above countries in order to blend into the majority culture more easily.[citation needed] It is also a common surname among African Americans, which can be attributed to white American slave owners giving the name to black slaves during the Slave Trade. At least 3 million people in the United States share the surname Smith, and somewhat more than ½ million share it in the United Kingdom.[4] 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";[5] and sufficiently common on the (European) continent (in various forms) to be "...common in most countries of Europe."[6]

Contents

[edit] Etymology and History

The name originally derives from smið or smiþ, the Old English term meaning one who works in metal related to the word Wikt:Ssmitan, 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 smiððe 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 was recorded in 975.[7]

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:

  • To this day, it is not uncommon for persons in English-speaking countries to adopt the surname Smith in order to maintain a secret identity, when they wish to avoid being found by someone; see also John Smith.
  • During the colonisation 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 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 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 cataloguing 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,[8] many immigrants did choose to begin their American lives with more "American" names, particularly with Anglicized 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.

[edit] Variations

Variations of the surname, Smith, also remain very common. These include different spellings of the English term, and versions from other countries and cultures.

[edit] 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",[9] which would have been used in surnames based on location rather than occupation (in other words, for someone living near or at the smithy).[10] Related names include Smithy, Smythy, Smithies, Smithyes, Smythies and Smythay.[citation needed] Likewise, the replacement of the "i" with a "y" in "Smyth" or "Smythe" is 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".[9] 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.[10] Additional derivatives include Smithman, Smithson and Smithfield (see below).[10]

Other variations focus on particular branches within the profession, particularly those based on the materials worked with — Blacksmith, from those who worked predominantly with iron, Whitesmith, from those who worked with tin (and the more obvious Tinsmith), Brownsmith, from those who worked with copper (and the more obvious Coppersmith), Silversmith, Goldsmith — and those based on the goods produced, such as Hammersmith, Naismith (referring to nails), Arrowsmith or Shoesmith (referring to horseshoes).[10]

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 occurrences of the surnames Smithson and Smisson. Another variation, Smithfield, might derive from persons descended from an estate originally named for a Smith – although another source for this name is from natives of an area known for its "smooth field".[citation needed]

In the British Armed Forces personnel with the Smith surname are affectionately called "Smudge" by their comrades.[citation needed]

[edit] Variations from other countries and cultures

[edit] "Smith" in other languages

Other languages with different words for the occupation of smith also produced surnames based on that derivation.

[edit] Romance languages

Words derived from the Latin term for smith, Faber (also the root of the word "fabricate") such as the Italian farrier, are the root of last names common in several parts of Europe.

[edit] Celtic languages

In Ireland and Scotland, the word for smith, gobha, is found in the surname MacGowan/McGowan. This surname is an Anglicised form of Mac Gobhann (Scottish Gaelic), Mac Gabhann (Irish), meaning "son of the smith".[12] 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 Bretons, following the Norman Conquest of England.[13]

[edit] Slavic and nearby languages

The Slavic languages and the Romanian and Hungarian they influenced contain a family of surnames that similarly derive from a common root referring to the metalworking occupation.

[edit] Other languages

[edit] Comparative note

Although Smith is the most common surname in the English-speaking world, it is held by fewer than five million people worldwide. Its popularity is dwarfed by the most common surname Li, which is held by over one hundred and eight million people. Indeed, each of the twenty most common last names in China represents more people than all of the world's Smiths.

Smith was the most common surname in Canada until 2006, when it was overtaken in that country by Li.[14]

[edit] Notable people sharing the surname "Smith"

Main article: List of people with surname Smith

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ 1990 Census Name Files
  2. ^ 2000 Census: Frequently Occurring Surnames
  3. ^ Citation: Brooke, 2006.
  4. ^ Citation: Smith surname at YourNotMe.
  5. ^ Citation: Bardsley, 1901.
  6. ^ a b c d Citation: Anderson, 1863.
  7. ^ Citation: Simpson, 2007.
  8. ^ USCIS Home Page
  9. ^ a b Cottle, Basil. Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1967.
  10. ^ a b c d Citation: Lower, 1860.
  11. ^ LEFEBVRE - Name Meaning & Origin at About.com
  12. ^ [1]
  13. ^ [2]
  14. ^ "Common surnames". CBC.ca (CBC News). 2007-07-26. http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/name-change/common-surnames.html. Retrieved 2008-01-27. "...the source is a Nebraska-based company called infoUSA, which claims to have put together a directory of every telephone listing in Canada." 

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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Surnames derived from the occupation of smith
Germanic
Smith  · Smithson  · Smithe  · Smyth  · Smythe · Schmidt · Schmitt · Schmitz  · Schmid  · Schmied  · Smit  · Smits
Russian
Other Slavic
Kowal · Kowalski  · Kowalczyk  · Kovalchuk  · Koval  · Kovalenko  · Kowalewski  · Kovalic  · Kovals1
Semitic
1According to Latvian name rules
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