Smith
Smith is the most common surname in the United States, shared by 2,369,644 people at the 2020 census. That is about one person in 126.
By the numbers
- People
- 2,369,644
- Rank
- 1st
- How common
- 1 in 126
- Per 100,000
- 792.8
Where the name comes from
Origin an occupational name
From smith or Middle English Smith (“a surname”), alternative form of Smyth, itself from smyth (“smith”).
Etymology from Wiktionary, used under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Who bears the name
How people with the surname Smith described their own race and Hispanic origin at the 2020 census:
Notable people called Smith
- Adam Smith (1723–1790)Scottish moral philosopher and political economist
- Will Smith (born 1968)American actor, film producer and rapper
- Joseph Smith (1805–1844)founder of the Latter Day Saint movement and prophet
- Patti Smith (born 1946)American singer, songwriter, author and poet
- Anna Nicole Smith (1967–2007)American actress and television personality
- Sam Smith (born 1992)British singer-songwriter
- George E. Smith (1930–2025)Nobel prize winning American physicist
- Matt Smith (born 1982)English actor
People named Smith with articles in the most Wikipedia languages. Data from Wikidata (CC0).
Surnames like Smith
Also a first name
Smith has been given to 5,664 American babies as a first name since 1880, peaking in 2016. See it as a given name.
Try it on yourself
Source: US Census Bureau, Frequently Occurring Surnames, 2020. The Census describes the file as the surnames borne by 100 or more people; rarer names are not published. The line is not quite exact, and 617 published names come in under it, the smallest at 92 people. Race and Hispanic origin are self-reported. Rates are worked out against the 298.9 million people the file's own figures are calculated on, which is fewer than the census counted in all: the difference is everyone whose surname was too rare to publish.