2010
#153,769
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Smeak
A surname with Scottish origins meaning "small", "slender", or "trim".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 119 Americans carry the last name Smeak. That puts it at #153,590 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,880,289 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Smeak 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
119
1 in 2,880,289
Census rank
#153,590
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
104
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 104 bearers of the surname Smeak in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 153590th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Smeak, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.8%) and Black (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Smeak
The surname SMEAK is believed to have originated in England during the medieval period. It is thought to be derived from the Old English word "smæc," which means "taste" or "flavor." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who worked as a taster or food sampler.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the SMEAK surname can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive record of landowners and property in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The name appears as "Smeac" in this document, indicating that it was already in use by the late 11th century.
During the Middle Ages, the SMEAK surname was most prevalent in the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk in East Anglia. It is believed that the name may have originated in this region, potentially in a village or town with a name similar to "Smeak" or derived from the same Old English root.
One notable historical figure with the SMEAK surname was John Smeak, a 14th-century merchant and landowner from Norwich, Norfolk. Records suggest that he was born around 1320 and died in the late 1380s or early 1390s.
Another individual of note was William Smeak, a 16th-century scholar and clergyman from Cambridgeshire. He was born in 1525 and served as a rector in various parishes throughout his life until his death in 1598.
In the 17th century, the SMEAK surname was also found in Scotland, where it was sometimes spelled as "Smeik" or "Smeek." One example is Robert Smeik, a merchant who lived in Edinburgh in the mid-1600s.
During the 18th century, a branch of the SMEAK family settled in the American colonies. One notable individual from this line was Samuel Smeak, a farmer and militia member who fought in the Revolutionary War. He was born in 1745 in Virginia and died in 1822.
Another prominent figure with the SMEAK surname was Elizabeth Smeak, a 19th-century author and women's rights advocate from London. She was born in 1820 and published several works on women's education and suffrage before her death in 1892.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Smeak
Among Census respondents with the surname Smeak, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.8%) and Black (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Smeak 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 Smeak surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.3% · 97
- Hispanic or Latino4.8% · 5
- Black or African American1.9% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Smeak
Smeak appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#153,590
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
-2 bearers (-1.9%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Up 179 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #153,769 | 106 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #153,590 | 104 | 0.03 | -2 bearers (-1.9%) | Up 179 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 Smeak 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 | #153,769 | #153,590 | 0.1% |
| Count | 106 | 104 | -1.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -13.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Smeak bearers went from 106 to 104 (-1.9% change). The surname moved up 179 positions in the national ranking, going from #153,769 to #153,590.
FAQ
Smeak surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Smeak?
Name Census estimates that about 119 living Americans carry the surname Smeak. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,880,289 residents.
How common is Smeak?
Smeak ranks #153,590 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 104 people with the surname Smeak. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (119), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Smeak.
Has Smeak become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Smeak went from 106 recorded bearers to 104. That is a decrease of 2 (-1.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #153,769 to #153,590.
What does the Census say about the background of Smeak?
Among Census respondents with the surname Smeak, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.8%) and Black (1.9%). 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 Smeak in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.3% (97 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Smeak appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.3%), Hispanic (4.8%), Black (1.9%). 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 Smeak (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 Smeak mean?
A surname with Scottish origins meaning "small", "slender", or "trim". 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 Smeak (0.03 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 common is the surname Smeak?
For a quick modern take, check how many people are called Smeak on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.