2000
#15,563
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,725
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.64
Rare Last name
Smartt
Derived from a nickname for an intelligent or quick-witted person, from Middle English "smert" meaning "quick, active, clever."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,166 Americans carry the last name Smartt. That puts it at #15,014 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.63 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 158,243 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Smartt surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
2.2K
1 in 158,243
Census rank
#15,014
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,889 bearers of the surname Smartt in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.63 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15014th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Smartt, the largest self-reported group is White at 61.5%. The next largest groups are Black (27.5%) and Two or More Races (4.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Smartt
The surname "SMARTT" is an English surname that originated in the 12th century. It derives from the Old English word "smeart," which means "clever" or "intelligent." The name was likely first used as a nickname for someone who was perceived as smart or witty.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, there are records of people with similar names, such as "Smert" and "Smarte." These early spellings indicate that the surname was in use before the Norman Conquest of England in 1066.
The earliest known bearer of the surname "SMARTT" was William Smerte, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1202. Another early record is of a Richard Smert, who was listed in the Curia Regis Rolls of Lincolnshire in 1219.
The surname "SMARTT" has also been linked to various place names in England, such as Smarts in Huntingdonshire and Smarts Hill in Oxfordshire. These place names may have influenced the spelling and pronunciation of the surname over time.
One notable figure with the surname "SMARTT" was Sir George Smartt (1624-1677), an English lawyer and politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Woodstock from 1661 to 1677.
Another prominent individual was John Smartt (1731-1800), an English architect and surveyor who designed several buildings in London, including the chapel at the Foundling Hospital.
In the 18th century, Benjamin Smartt (1755-1827) was an English Baptist minister and author who wrote several theological works and served as the pastor of the Baptist church in Ramsgate, Kent.
In the United States, one of the earliest recorded bearers of the surname was Thomas Smartt (1777-1854), a farmer and landowner in Tennessee who served as a state senator and was involved in the early political development of the state.
Another notable American with the surname was George Alphonso Smartt (1861-1938), a lawyer and judge who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Tennessee from 1918 to 1938.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Smartt
Among Census respondents with the surname Smartt, the largest self-reported group is White at 61.5%. The next largest groups are Black (27.5%) and Two or More Races (4.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Smartt bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Smartt surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White61.5% · 1,162
- Black or African American27.5% · 519
- Two or more races4.8% · 91
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 66
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.0% · 38
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 13
Timeline
Historical Census data for Smartt
Smartt appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#15,238
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,930
+205 bearers (+11.9%)
Per 100,000 0.65
Rank movement Up 325 places
2020
#15,014
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,889
-41 bearers (-2.1%)
Per 100,000 0.63
Rank movement Up 224 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #15,563 | 1,725 | 0.64 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #15,238 | 1,930 | 0.65 | +205 bearers (+11.9%) | Up 325 places |
| 2020 | #15,014 | 1,889 | 0.63 | -41 bearers (-2.1%) | Up 224 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Smartt surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #15,238 | #15,014 | 1.5% |
| Count | 1,930 | 1,889 | -2.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.65 | 0.63 | -2.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Smartt bearers went from 1,930 to 1,889 (-2.1% change). The surname moved up 224 positions in the national ranking, going from #15,238 to #15,014.
FAQ
Smartt surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Smartt?
Name Census estimates that about 2,166 living Americans carry the surname Smartt. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 158,243 residents.
How common is Smartt?
Smartt ranks #15,014 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.63 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,889 people with the surname Smartt. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,166), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.63 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.63 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Smartt.
Has Smartt become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Smartt went from 1,930 recorded bearers to 1,889. That is a decrease of 41 (-2.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #15,238 to #15,014.
What does the Census say about the background of Smartt?
Among Census respondents with the surname Smartt, the largest self-reported group is White at 61.5%. The next largest groups are Black (27.5%) and Two or More Races (4.8%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Smartt in the 2020 Census, accounting for 61.5% (1,162 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Smartt appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (61.5%), Black (27.5%), Two or More Races (4.8%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Smartt (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Smartt mean?
Derived from a nickname for an intelligent or quick-witted person, from Middle English "smert" meaning "quick, active, clever." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Smartt (0.63 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people are called Smartt?
If you just want to know how many people have the last name Smartt, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.