Find out how popular the last name Smoak is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Smoak.

Smoak, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Smoak surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Smoak in America

Smoak is the 11846th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Smoak surname appeared 2,642 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Smoak.

We can also compare 2010 data for Smoak to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Smoak

The surname Smoak is believed to have originated in Germany, with the earliest recorded instances dating back to the 16th century. It is thought to be derived from the German word "Schmoker," which means "smoker" or "someone who smokes." This suggests that the name may have been initially given as a nickname or occupational surname to someone involved in the smoking or curing of meats or fish.

In the early days, the name was often spelled in various ways, such as Schmoker, Schmocker, or Schmöker, reflecting the regional dialects and the lack of standardized spelling conventions at the time. One of the earliest known records of the name is found in the Mannheim church register from 1594, which mentions a Johann Schmocker.

As the name spread across German-speaking regions, it eventually made its way into other parts of Europe and beyond through migrations and diasporas. One notable bearer of the name was Hans Schmöker, a German immigrant to the British colonies in North America in the late 17th century, who settled in Pennsylvania and became a prosperous landowner.

In the 19th century, the spelling "Smoak" began to appear more frequently, particularly in the United States, as German immigrants adapted their names to English phonetic spellings. One of the earliest recorded instances of this spelling is found in the 1850 census records of Ohio, where a Jacob Smoak is listed as a farmer.

Another notable figure with the surname Smoak was John Smoak, an American soldier who fought in the Civil War and was awarded the Medal of Honor for his bravery at the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863. He was born in 1838 and passed away in 1916.

In the 20th century, the name continued to be carried by various individuals, such as Lillian Smoak (1892-1978), an American educator and administrator who served as the president of the National Education Association from 1949 to 1950.

While the surname Smoak is not among the most common surnames globally, it has a rich history and can be traced back to its German roots, reflecting the linguistic and cultural traditions of its origins.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Smoak

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Smoak.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Smoak was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Smoak has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Smoak was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Smoak, please contact us.

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