2010
#148,347
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Smerchek
A surname likely derived from a regional word meaning "a small evergreen shrub".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 118 Americans carry the last name Smerchek. That puts it at #154,182 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,904,698 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Smerchek 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
118
1 in 2,904,698
Census rank
#154,182
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
103
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 103 bearers of the surname Smerchek in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 154182nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Smerchek, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Smerchek
The surname SMERCHEK is believed to have originated in Eastern Europe, specifically in the areas that are now modern-day Poland and Ukraine. It is thought to derive from an old Slavic root word "smerd" or "smrad," which means "stench" or "foul odor." This suggests that the name may have initially been a descriptive nickname referring to someone who had an unpleasant smell or perhaps worked in a trade that involved foul odors, such as tanning or dyeing.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name SMERCHEK can be found in a Polish census record from the city of Krakow, dated 1543. The name is listed as "Smerczek," which is likely an earlier spelling variation. This document provides evidence that the name was present in the region during the 16th century.
In the 17th century, a man named Jan SMERCHEK was mentioned in a historical record from the town of Lviv, which was then part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The record, dated 1687, refers to Jan as a master blacksmith, indicating that the name was associated with a skilled trade during that time period.
Moving into the 18th century, there is a record of a nobleman named Kazimierz SMERCHEK, born in 1721, who owned a significant estate in the region of Galicia, which was then part of the Austrian Empire. This suggests that by this time, the SMERCHEK name had gained some social standing and wealth.
In the 19th century, the name appears in various records from the Russian Empire, which had acquired parts of modern-day Ukraine and Belarus. A notable figure was Mikhail SMERCHEK, born in 1842, who was a respected scholar and professor of linguistics at the University of Kiev.
Another significant individual with the SMERCHEK surname was Stanislaw SMERCHEK, born in 1876 in the city of Lviv (then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire). He was a prominent architect who designed several notable buildings in the city, including the Lviv National Opera House, which still stands today.
While the SMERCHEK name has its roots in Eastern Europe, it has since spread to other parts of the world due to emigration and diaspora communities. However, the historical records and references mentioned above provide a glimpse into the origins and early uses of this distinctive surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Smerchek
Among Census respondents with the surname Smerchek, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Smerchek 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 Smerchek surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.1% · 98
- Two or more races2.9% · 3
- Hispanic or Latino1.9% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Smerchek
Smerchek 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
#154,182
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
-8 bearers (-7.2%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 5,835 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #148,347 | 111 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #154,182 | 103 | 0.03 | -8 bearers (-7.2%) | Down 5,835 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 Smerchek 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 | #148,347 | #154,182 | -3.9% |
| Count | 111 | 103 | -7.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -13.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Smerchek bearers went from 111 to 103 (-7.2% change). The surname moved down 5,835 positions in the national ranking, going from #148,347 to #154,182.
FAQ
Smerchek surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Smerchek?
Name Census estimates that about 118 living Americans carry the surname Smerchek. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,904,698 residents.
How common is Smerchek?
Smerchek ranks #154,182 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 103 people with the surname Smerchek. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (118), 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 Smerchek.
Has Smerchek become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Smerchek went from 111 recorded bearers to 103. That is a decrease of 8 (-7.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #148,347 to #154,182.
What does the Census say about the background of Smerchek?
Among Census respondents with the surname Smerchek, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (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 Smerchek in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.1% (98 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Smerchek appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.1%), Two or More Races (2.9%), Hispanic (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 Smerchek (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 Smerchek mean?
A surname likely derived from a regional word meaning "a small evergreen shrub". 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 Smerchek (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 many Americans have the surname Smerchek?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.