2000
#18,196
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,410
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.52
Rare Last name
Smoker
An occupational surname referring to someone who processed tobacco or worked in a smokehouse.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,657 Americans carry the last name Smoker. That puts it at #12,722 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.78 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 129,001 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Smoker 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 Smoker with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.7K
1 in 129,001
Census rank
#12,722
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,317 bearers of the surname Smoker in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.78 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12722nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Smoker, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.8%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (4.0%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Smoker
The surname Smoker is of English origin, with records dating back to the late 16th century. It is an occupational name derived from the Old English word "smocian," which means "to smoke." This surname was likely given to someone who worked as a smoker, either in the process of curing meat or fish with smoke, or in the production of smoke for other industrial processes.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Smoker can be found in the parish records of Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, England, where a Thomas Smoker was listed in 1596. Another early record shows a John Smoker in the Subsidy Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1628.
In the 17th century, the name appears in various spellings, such as Smocker and Smooker, reflecting the regional variations in pronunciation and spelling at the time. For example, a Richard Smocker was recorded in the Hearth Tax Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1672.
The Smoker surname can also be traced to the village of Smokehouses in Worcestershire, England, which was known for its smokehouses used for curing meat and fish. It is possible that some individuals with this surname may have originated from this area and adopted the name based on their occupation or place of residence.
Some notable individuals throughout history with the surname Smoker include:
1. John Smoker (1639-1685), an English religious dissenter and writer who was imprisoned for his beliefs.
2. William Smoker (1745-1821), an English architect who designed several notable buildings in Bristol.
3. Elizabeth Smoker (1811-1891), an American pioneer and one of the first settlers in Oregon's Willamette Valley.
4. Henry Smoker (1864-1943), a British trade unionist and Labour Party politician who served as a Member of Parliament.
5. Alice Smoker (1923-2001), an American artist and sculptor known for her abstract works in various media.
While the Smoker surname is not among the most common in English-speaking countries, it has a rich history and has been associated with various occupations and individuals over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Smoker
Among Census respondents with the surname Smoker, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.8%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (4.0%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Smoker 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 Smoker surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.8% · 2,104
- American Indian and Alaska Native4.0% · 93
- Two or more races1.8% · 42
- Hispanic or Latino1.6% · 38
- Black or African American1.4% · 32
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Smoker
Smoker 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
#16,238
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,778
+368 bearers (+26.1%)
Per 100,000 0.60
Rank movement Up 1,958 places
2020
#12,722
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,317
+539 bearers (+30.3%)
Per 100,000 0.78
Rank movement Up 3,516 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #18,196 | 1,410 | 0.52 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #16,238 | 1,778 | 0.60 | +368 bearers (+26.1%) | Up 1,958 places |
| 2020 | #12,722 | 2,317 | 0.78 | +539 bearers (+30.3%) | Up 3,516 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 Smoker 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 | #16,238 | #12,722 | 21.7% |
| Count | 1,778 | 2,317 | 30.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.60 | 0.78 | 29.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Smoker bearers went from 1,778 to 2,317 (+30.3% change). The surname moved up 3,516 positions in the national ranking, going from #16,238 to #12,722.
FAQ
Smoker surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Smoker?
Name Census estimates that about 2,657 living Americans carry the surname Smoker. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 129,001 residents.
How common is Smoker?
Smoker ranks #12,722 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.78 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 2,317 people with the surname Smoker. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,657), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.78 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.78 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 Smoker.
Has Smoker become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Smoker went from 1,778 recorded bearers to 2,317. That is an increase of 539 (+30.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #16,238 to #12,722.
What does the Census say about the background of Smoker?
Among Census respondents with the surname Smoker, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.8%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (4.0%) and Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Smoker in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.8% (2,104 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Smoker appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.8%), American Indian/Alaska Native (4.0%), Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Smoker (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 Smoker mean?
An occupational surname referring to someone who processed tobacco or worked in a smokehouse. 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 Smoker (0.78 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 Smoker?
If you just want to know how many people are called Smoker, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.