Smith (surname)

Smith is an occupational surname^[3] originating in England. It is the most prevalent surname in the United Kingdom,^[1][4] America, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand,^[5] and the fifth most common surname in Ireland. In America, 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 African slaves having been given the surname of their masters, or to being an occupational name, as some southern African-Americans 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]