2000
#12,466
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,284
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.85
Rare Last name
Smits
A Dutch occupational surname referring to a metalworker, blacksmith, or someone who works with metal.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,889 Americans carry the last name Smits. That puts it at #11,886 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.84 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 118,641 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Smits 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Smits with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.9K
1 in 118,641
Census rank
#11,886
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,519 bearers of the surname Smits in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.84 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11886th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Smits, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Hispanic (3.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Smits
The surname Smits originated in the Low Countries, which includes modern-day Netherlands, Belgium, and parts of northern France. It traces its roots back to the Middle Dutch and Old Frisian languages spoken in these regions during the Middle Ages.
Smits is derived from the occupational surname "Smid" or "Smid(d)e," meaning a blacksmith or metalworker. This name likely referred to an ancestor who worked as a blacksmith, which was a vital profession in medieval times, responsible for forging tools, weapons, and other metal objects.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Smits can be found in the 14th-century Bruges census records, where a certain "Jan Smidts" is mentioned. The name also appears in various municipal records and tax rolls from cities like Ghent, Antwerp, and Rotterdam throughout the 15th and 16th centuries.
In the 17th century, the surname Smits gained prominence with the Dutch painter Michiel Jansz van Mierevelt (1567-1641), also known as Michiel Jansz Smits. He was a renowned portrait artist who painted many of the Dutch aristocracy and influential figures of his time.
Another notable bearer of the Smits surname was Jan Smits (1624-1690), a Dutch Golden Age painter known for his landscapes and genre scenes. His works can be found in several prestigious museums, including the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
During the 18th century, the Smits family produced several notable figures, such as Dirk Smits (1702-1783), a Dutch engraver and mapmaker, and Andries Smits (1719-1790), a Dutch painter and draftsman known for his landscapes and architectural scenes.
In the 19th century, the Smits name gained international recognition with the Belgian composer and pianist Eugène Smits (1826-1912), whose compositions and performances were highly acclaimed throughout Europe.
Another prominent figure with the Smits surname was the Dutch-American artist Jacob A. Smits (1855-1928), who was known for his Impressionist-style paintings of landscapes and cityscapes, particularly those depicting rural scenes in the Netherlands.
Throughout its history, the surname Smits has been associated with various place names and local variations, such as "Smedt," "Smid," "Smidt," and "Smeits," reflecting the linguistic diversity of the Low Countries region where the name originated.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Smits
Among Census respondents with the surname Smits, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Hispanic (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Smits 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 Smits surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.1% · 2,295
- Two or more races3.4% · 86
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 77
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 28
- Black or African American1.0% · 25
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Smits
Smits 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
#12,802
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,409
+125 bearers (+5.5%)
Per 100,000 0.82
Rank movement Down 336 places
2020
#11,886
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,519
+110 bearers (+4.6%)
Per 100,000 0.84
Rank movement Up 916 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,466 | 2,284 | 0.85 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,802 | 2,409 | 0.82 | +125 bearers (+5.5%) | Down 336 places |
| 2020 | #11,886 | 2,519 | 0.84 | +110 bearers (+4.6%) | Up 916 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 Smits 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 | #12,802 | #11,886 | 7.2% |
| Count | 2,409 | 2,519 | 4.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.82 | 0.84 | 2.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Smits bearers went from 2,409 to 2,519 (+4.6% change). The surname moved up 916 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,802 to #11,886.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Smits
FAQ
Smits surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Smits?
Name Census estimates that about 2,889 living Americans carry the surname Smits. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 118,641 residents.
How common is Smits?
Smits ranks #11,886 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.84 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 2,519 people with the surname Smits. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,889), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.84 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.84 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 Smits.
Has Smits become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Smits went from 2,409 recorded bearers to 2,519. That is an increase of 110 (+4.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #12,802 to #11,886.
What does the Census say about the background of Smits?
Among Census respondents with the surname Smits, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Hispanic (3.1%). 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 Smits in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.1% (2,295 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Smits appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.1%), Two or More Races (3.4%), Hispanic (3.1%). 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 Smits (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 Smits mean?
A Dutch occupational surname referring to a metalworker, blacksmith, or someone who works with metal. 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 Smits (0.84 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 Smits?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.