2000
#11,105
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,623
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.97
Rare Last name
Smoak
A surname derived from the Middle English word "smok," referring to someone who lived near a smoke-filled area.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,921 Americans carry the last name Smoak. That puts it at #11,763 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.85 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 117,341 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Smoak 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
2.9K
1 in 117,341
Census rank
#11,763
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,547 bearers of the surname Smoak in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.85 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11763rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Smoak, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.3%. The next largest groups are Black (11.9%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Smoak
Among Census respondents with the surname Smoak, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.3%. The next largest groups are Black (11.9%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Smoak 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 Smoak surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.3% · 2,122
- Black or African American11.9% · 304
- Two or more races2.5% · 64
- Hispanic or Latino1.9% · 48
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Smoak
Smoak 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
#11,846
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,642
+19 bearers (+0.7%)
Per 100,000 0.90
Rank movement Down 741 places
2020
#11,763
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,547
-95 bearers (-3.6%)
Per 100,000 0.85
Rank movement Up 83 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,105 | 2,623 | 0.97 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,846 | 2,642 | 0.90 | +19 bearers (+0.7%) | Down 741 places |
| 2020 | #11,763 | 2,547 | 0.85 | -95 bearers (-3.6%) | Up 83 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 Smoak 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 | #11,846 | #11,763 | 0.7% |
| Count | 2,642 | 2,547 | -3.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.90 | 0.85 | -5.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Smoak bearers went from 2,642 to 2,547 (-3.6% change). The surname moved up 83 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,846 to #11,763.
FAQ
Smoak surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Smoak?
Name Census estimates that about 2,921 living Americans carry the surname Smoak. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 117,341 residents.
How common is Smoak?
Smoak ranks #11,763 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.85 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 2,547 people with the surname Smoak. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,921), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.85 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.85 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 Smoak.
Has Smoak become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Smoak went from 2,642 recorded bearers to 2,547. That is a decrease of 95 (-3.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #11,846 to #11,763.
What does the Census say about the background of Smoak?
Among Census respondents with the surname Smoak, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.3%. The next largest groups are Black (11.9%) and Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Smoak in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.3% (2,122 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Smoak appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (83.3%), Black (11.9%), Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Smoak (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 Smoak mean?
A surname derived from the Middle English word "smok," referring to someone who lived near a smoke-filled area. 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 Smoak (0.85 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 Smoak?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people are called Smoak at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.