2000
#134,037
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Smoger
Smoger is a surname derived from a Middle German word meaning "an elegant or well-dressed person."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 115 Americans carry the last name Smoger. That puts it at #155,682 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,980,473 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Smoger 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
115
1 in 2,980,473
Census rank
#155,682
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
100
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 100 bearers of the surname Smoger in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 155682nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Smoger, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Smoger
The surname SMOGER is believed to have originated in the region of Pomerania, located in what is now northern Poland and northeastern Germany. The name likely emerged in the 14th or 15th century, derived from the Old Prussian word "smagurs," meaning "small."
One of the earliest known references to the SMOGER name can be found in the historical records of the town of Gdansk (formerly Danzig), where a merchant named Hans SMOGER is mentioned in a trade document dated 1437. Another early record comes from the village of Smogorzow in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship of Poland, which may have been named after an early bearer of the SMOGER surname.
In the 16th century, the SMOGER name appears in several German parish records, including those of the town of Stargard in what was then Pomerania. A notable figure from this time was Johann SMOGER, a Lutheran minister born in Stargard in 1562, who played a role in the religious conflicts of the region during the Reformation.
As the SMOGER family spread across Europe in the following centuries, various spelling variations emerged, such as SMOGGER, SCHMOGGER, and SCHMÖGER. One notable bearer of the name was Friedrich Wilhelm SMOGER, a German philosopher and writer born in Königsberg (now Kaliningrad, Russia) in 1762. His works explored topics of ethics and the nature of human reason.
Another significant figure was Alois SMOGER, an Austrian entrepreneur born in Vienna in 1825. He founded a successful textile manufacturing company that became a major employer in the region. His son, Karl SMOGER (1858-1932), continued the family business and was also involved in local politics, serving as a city councilor in Vienna.
In the 20th century, the SMOGER name gained prominence in the field of sports officiating. Robert SMOGER, born in the United States in 1939, became a highly respected boxing referee, officiating numerous world championship bouts and earning induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
While the origins of the SMOGER surname can be traced back to a specific region in medieval times, its bearers have left their mark across various fields and cultures throughout history, reflecting the diversity and resilience of this name over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Smoger
Among Census respondents with the surname Smoger, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Smoger 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 Smoger surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White97.0% · 97
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Smoger
Smoger 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
#156,044
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
-12 bearers (-10.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 22,007 places
2020
#155,682
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 100
-4 bearers (-3.8%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Up 362 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #134,037 | 116 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #156,044 | 104 | 0.04 | -12 bearers (-10.3%) | Down 22,007 places |
| 2020 | #155,682 | 100 | 0.03 | -4 bearers (-3.8%) | Up 362 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 Smoger 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 | #156,044 | #155,682 | 0.2% |
| Count | 104 | 100 | -3.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -16.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Smoger bearers went from 104 to 100 (-3.8% change). The surname moved up 362 positions in the national ranking, going from #156,044 to #155,682.
FAQ
Smoger surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Smoger?
Name Census estimates that about 115 living Americans carry the surname Smoger. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,980,473 residents.
How common is Smoger?
Smoger ranks #155,682 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 100 people with the surname Smoger. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (115), 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 Smoger.
Has Smoger become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Smoger went from 104 recorded bearers to 100. That is a decrease of 4 (-3.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #156,044 to #155,682.
What does the Census say about the background of Smoger?
Among Census respondents with the surname Smoger, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%). 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 Smoger in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.0% (97 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Smoger appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (97.0%), Hispanic (3.0%). 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 Smoger (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 Smoger mean?
Smoger is a surname derived from a Middle German word meaning "an elegant or well-dressed person." 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 Smoger (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 people have the last name Smoger?
See how many Americans have the surname Smoger on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.