Smith (surname)

Smith (surname)

Smith is a family name (surname) originating in England. It is the most prevalent surname in the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States, the second most common surname in Canada, and the fifth most common surname in Ireland. The surname Smith is particularly prevalent among those of English and Irish descent, but is also a common surname among African Americans, which can be attributed to black slaves adopting the name during the era of slavery and after the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation. 2,376,206 Americans shared the surname Smith during the 2000 census, and more than 500,000 people share it in the United Kingdom. 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"; and sufficiently common on the (European) continent (in various forms) to be "...common in most countries of Europe."