Smurr last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Smurr

An anglicized spelling of the German surname Schmerr, a variant of Schmeer, referring to someone who greased or applied oils.

Smurr, 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 Smurr surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Smurr in America

Smurr is the 108199th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Smurr surname appeared 164 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Smurr.

We can also compare 2010 data for Smurr 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 108199 114852 -5.97%
Count 164 141 15.08%
Proportion per 100k 0.06 0.05 18.18%

The history of the last name Smurr

The surname SMURR is believed to have originated in the region of Silesia, which is now part of modern-day Poland and Germany. It first appeared during the late 13th century and is thought to be derived from the Old German word "smuor," meaning "fat" or "grease."

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in a document from 1297, which mentions a certain "Cunradus Smurr" residing in the town of Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland). This suggests that the surname may have been initially used as a nickname for someone who worked with animal fats or greases, perhaps a tallow chandler or soap maker.

In the 14th century, the SMURR name began to spread throughout various regions of Central Europe, including Bohemia (now part of the Czech Republic) and the Holy Roman Empire. A notable early bearer of the name was Johann Smurr, a merchant from Nuremberg who was mentioned in trade records from the year 1367.

During the 15th century, the surname SMURR appeared in several historical records from the region of Saxony, in present-day eastern Germany. One such record, dated 1492, refers to a "Hans Smurr" who was a farmer in the village of Großenhain.

By the 16th century, the SMURR name had also made its way to the Low Countries (present-day Netherlands and Belgium). A notable figure from this time period was Pieter Smurr (1542-1614), a Dutch painter known for his landscapes and religious works.

Another significant bearer of the SMURR surname was Jakob Smurr (1621-1691), a German theologian and author who wrote extensively on Protestant doctrine and served as a professor at the University of Jena.

As the centuries passed, the SMURR name continued to spread throughout Europe, with bearers appearing in various regions and occupations. Some other notable individuals with this surname include:

  • Friedrich Smurr (1762-1834), a German composer and organist.
  • Wilhelm Smurr (1801-1872), a Prussian politician and member of the Prussian House of Representatives.
  • Adolph Smurr (1838-1914), a German-American brewer and businessman who founded the Smurr Brewing Company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
  • Gertrud Smurr (1874-1942), an Austrian opera singer and actress.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Smurr

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

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 Smurr was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 99.39% 163
Non-Hispanic Black Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 0.00% 0
Hispanic Origin (S)% (S)

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 Smurr has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 99.39% 99.29% 0.10%
Black (S)% 0.00% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Two or More Races 0.00% (S)% (S)%
Hispanic (S)% (S)% (S)%

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 Smurr was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

Reference this page

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If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Smurr last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on April 30, 2025. http://namecensus.com/last-names/smurr-surname-popularity/.

"Smurr last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/smurr-surname-popularity/. Accessed 30 April, 2025

Smurr last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/smurr-surname-popularity/.

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