2000
#149,328
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Smetters
A variant spelling of a Dutch surname originally meaning "butter seller."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 124 Americans carry the last name Smetters. That puts it at #150,935 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,764,148 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Smetters 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
124
1 in 2,764,148
Census rank
#150,935
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
108
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 108 bearers of the surname Smetters in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150935th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Smetters, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Smetters
The surname SMETTERS is believed to have originated in the Netherlands, possibly in the 16th or 17th century. It is thought to be derived from the Dutch word "smetten," which means "to stain" or "to tarnish." The name may have initially been given as a nickname to someone who had a particular occupation or trait related to staining or tarnishing objects.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the SMETTERS name is found in a Dutch census record from the town of Leiden in 1632, where it is spelled "Smetters." This suggests that the name had already been established in the Netherlands by the early 17th century.
In the late 17th century, the SMETTERS name appears to have spread to other parts of Europe, particularly Germany and England. In 1692, a man named Hans Smetters is recorded in a German church register from the city of Hannover. Around the same time, a Samuel Smetters is listed in an English parish record from the town of Stoke-on-Trent in 1698.
One of the earliest known individuals with the SMETTERS surname was a Dutch merchant named Pieter Smetters, who was born in Amsterdam in 1620 and died in 1682. He was involved in the East Indies trade and is mentioned in several historical records related to shipping and commerce in the Dutch Golden Age.
Another notable figure with this name was Gerrit Smetters, a Dutch painter who lived from 1725 to 1795. He was known for his landscapes and cityscapes, and several of his works can be found in museums in the Netherlands.
In the 19th century, the SMETTERS name appears to have spread further, with records showing individuals with this surname in places like the United States and Australia. One such person was John Smetters, an English-born farmer who emigrated to Australia in the 1840s and settled in the state of Victoria.
Other historical figures with the SMETTERS surname include Hendrik Smetters, a Dutch botanist and horticulturist who lived from 1815 to 1892, and Willem Smetters, a Dutch military officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars and was born in 1778.
While the SMETTERS name is not extremely common, it has a long history and can be traced back to its origins in the Netherlands several centuries ago. The name's connection to the Dutch word "smetten" provides an interesting glimpse into the potential occupations or traits of some of its earliest bearers.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Smetters
Among Census respondents with the surname Smetters, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Smetters 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 Smetters surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White99.1% · 107
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Smetters
Smetters 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
#144,141
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
+14 bearers (+13.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 5,187 places
2020
#150,935
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
-7 bearers (-6.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 6,794 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #149,328 | 101 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #144,141 | 115 | 0.04 | +14 bearers (+13.9%) | Up 5,187 places |
| 2020 | #150,935 | 108 | 0.04 | -7 bearers (-6.1%) | Down 6,794 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 Smetters 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 | #144,141 | #150,935 | -4.7% |
| Count | 115 | 108 | -6.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -9.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Smetters bearers went from 115 to 108 (-6.1% change). The surname moved down 6,794 positions in the national ranking, going from #144,141 to #150,935.
FAQ
Smetters surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Smetters?
Name Census estimates that about 124 living Americans carry the surname Smetters. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,764,148 residents.
How common is Smetters?
Smetters ranks #150,935 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 108 people with the surname Smetters. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (124), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Smetters.
Has Smetters become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Smetters went from 115 recorded bearers to 108. That is a decrease of 7 (-6.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #144,141 to #150,935.
What does the Census say about the background of Smetters?
Among Census respondents with the surname Smetters, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (0.9%). 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 Smetters in the 2020 Census, accounting for 99.1% (107 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Smetters appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (99.1%), Hispanic (0.9%). 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 Smetters (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 Smetters mean?
A variant spelling of a Dutch surname originally meaning "butter seller." 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 Smetters (0.04 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 Smetters?
Find out how many people have the last name Smetters on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.