2000
#3,646
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,955
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.32
Uncommon Last name
Smoot
An English occupational surname for a person who smooths or flattens cloth.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 10,071 Americans carry the last name Smoot. That puts it at #3,924 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.94 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 34,034 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Smoot 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
10K
1 in 34,034
Census rank
#3,924
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.8K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,782 bearers of the surname Smoot in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.94 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3924th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Smoot, the largest self-reported group is White at 63.2%. The next largest groups are Black (27.7%) and Two or More Races (5.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Smoot
The surname SMOOT has its origins in England, originating in the 13th century. It is believed to be an occupational name, derived from the Old English word 'smot', which means 'smooth' or 'sleek'. This suggests that the name may have been given to someone who worked with fabrics or textiles, perhaps a cloth smoother or a tailor.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name SMOOT can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire from 1279, which mentions a person named William Smot. The name also appears in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex in 1296, where a John Smot is listed.
The SMOOT surname is often associated with the village of Smoot, located in the county of Kent, England. This place name is thought to be derived from the Old English words 'smethe' and 'hoth', meaning 'smooth valley'. It is possible that the surname originated from this location.
In the 16th century, the surname SMOOT was recorded in various spellings, including Smote, Smotte, and Smoote. This variation in spelling was common during this period due to the lack of standardized spelling conventions.
One notable individual with the SMOOT surname was Sir John Smoot, born in 1556. He was a prominent English politician and served as a Member of Parliament for the borough of Grantham in Lincolnshire.
Another individual of historical significance was William Smoot, born in 1635 in England. He later emigrated to the American colonies and settled in Virginia, where he became a prominent landowner and founded the Smoot family line in America.
In the 18th century, a noteworthy figure was George Smoot, born in 1715 in Virginia. He served as a lieutenant during the American Revolutionary War and played a role in several battles against the British forces.
In the 19th century, Samuel Smoot, born in 1824 in Utah, was a prominent figure in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He served as a missionary and helped establish several LDS communities in the western United States.
Lastly, in the 20th century, George Fitzgerald Smoot III, born in 1945, is a renowned American cosmologist and astrophysicist. He was co-awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2006 for his work on the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation, which provided insights into the early universe.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Smoot
Among Census respondents with the surname Smoot, the largest self-reported group is White at 63.2%. The next largest groups are Black (27.7%) and Two or More Races (5.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Smoot 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 Smoot surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White63.2% · 5,550
- Black or African American27.7% · 2,437
- Two or more races5.3% · 463
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 234
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 69
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 29
Timeline
Historical Census data for Smoot
Smoot 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
#3,868
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,168
+213 bearers (+2.4%)
Per 100,000 3.11
Rank movement Down 222 places
2020
#3,924
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,782
-386 bearers (-4.2%)
Per 100,000 2.94
Rank movement Down 56 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,646 | 8,955 | 3.32 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,868 | 9,168 | 3.11 | +213 bearers (+2.4%) | Down 222 places |
| 2020 | #3,924 | 8,782 | 2.94 | -386 bearers (-4.2%) | Down 56 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 Smoot 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 | #3,868 | #3,924 | -1.4% |
| Count | 9,168 | 8,782 | -4.2% |
| Per 100K | 3.11 | 2.94 | -5.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Smoot bearers went from 9,168 to 8,782 (-4.2% change). The surname moved down 56 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,868 to #3,924.
FAQ
Smoot surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Smoot?
Name Census estimates that about 10,071 living Americans carry the surname Smoot. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 34,034 residents.
How common is Smoot?
Smoot ranks #3,924 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.94 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 8,782 people with the surname Smoot. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (10,071), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.94 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.94 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Smoot.
Has Smoot become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Smoot went from 9,168 recorded bearers to 8,782. That is a decrease of 386 (-4.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,868 to #3,924.
What does the Census say about the background of Smoot?
Among Census respondents with the surname Smoot, the largest self-reported group is White at 63.2%. The next largest groups are Black (27.7%) and Two or More Races (5.3%). 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 Smoot in the 2020 Census, accounting for 63.2% (5,550 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Smoot appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (63.2%), Black (27.7%), Two or More Races (5.3%). 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 Smoot (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 Smoot mean?
An English occupational surname for a person who smooths or flattens cloth. 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 Smoot (2.94 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 surname Smoot?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.