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Smith

#1,483 in 2025Boys' name

Smith

Smith has been given to 5,664 babies in the U.S. since 1880. In 2025 it ranked #1,483 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 2016, with 162 recorded.

Babies named Smith, 2025

1 in 27,600

Smith over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls
05010015020018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Smith: meaning, origin, and history

Smith

surname transfer

What Smith means

Smith means “smith”, associated with smyth.

Dictionary etymologyReferences, data & attribution

From smith or Middle English Smith (“a surname”), alternative form of Smyth, itself from smyth (“smith”). Doublet of Schmidt, Smid, and Smit.

Excerpt from Wiktionary: Smith (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Origin, language, and formation

Smith is used in English. Its origins include surname transfer.

Smith comes through Middle English Smith.

Smith is recorded as a surname transferred into given-name use.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include Smyth.

Pronunciation and spelling

In English, Smith is pronounced /smɪθ/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 5,475 boys were recorded with the name Smith between 1880 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 162 in 2016; its best national rank was #326 in 1885.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #1,412 in 2020 to #1,483 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #1,187 in 2015 to #1,483 in 2025.

In the United States, 189 girls were recorded with the name Smith between 1972 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 16 in 2018; its best national rank was #7,371 in 2018.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #13,298 in 2020 to #11,794 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #10,059 in 2015 to #11,794 in 2025.

How common is Smith?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 27,600
120 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 14,200
<0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025
#1,483
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
19,150 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Smith sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 5002%

Put another way: gather 19,150 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Smith. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Smiths were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Smith was born before 1982 — so the typical Smith is around 43 today.

Median birth year
1982
About 43 years old
Biggest decade
2010s
23.0% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
42.8%
Spread across generations
Recorded since 1950
3,290
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2010s — 23.0% of all recorded uses (1,259).

Is Smith rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
+104
Places climbed
Rank vs 5 years ago
−71
Places dropped
Rank vs 10 years ago
−296
Places dropped
Births vs 10 years ago
0.77×
Fewer babies than then
Share of its own peak
74.1%
Peak was 2016 (162)
Years since peak
9
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Shifting
16.1% average annual change
Best rank ever
#326
1885

Spellings of Smith

Smith is not the most common spelling — Keith is, with 69.9% against Smith's 0.87%.

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Where Smith is used

Across 2016–2025, Smith was most concentrated in North Carolina — about 1 in 5,263 boys, against 1 in 14,130 across all states with data. It was least common in Washington (1 in 100,000).

119 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1North Carolina1 in 5,263
  2. 2Georgia1 in 6,250
  3. 3South Carolina1 in 6,250
  4. 4Tennessee1 in 6,250
  5. 5Utah1 in 6,667
  6. 6Alabama1 in 9,091
  7. 7Michigan1 in 10,000
  8. 8Texas1 in 14,286

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings.

Smith around the world

Where Smith ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    2006–2022
    #4,790
    in 2022
  • Scotland
    2010–2010
    #638
    in 2010
  • France
    1979–2021
    #5,743
    in 2021
  • South Australia
    2007–2007
    #680
    in 2007

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland, Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS, NRS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. INSEE data under Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0. CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0.

Notable people named Smith

People whose public names include Smith, backed by Wikidata given-name records and ordered by linked Wikimedia pages. The name may be a middle name.

People data from Wikidata (CC0). Fame is measured, not judged — the order reflects how widely each person is documented, not the U.S. birth records popularity this page is otherwise about.

Smith by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#1,483
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 71
Best rank ever
#326
1885
Peak year
2016
162 that year
First recorded
1880
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
5,475
Count in 2025
120

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#11,794
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 1,504
Best rank ever
#7,371
2018
Peak year
2018
16 that year
First recorded
1972
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
189
Count in 2025
8

Names similar to Smith

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

LaithLeithKennithFaithAdvaithEdithGhaithMarkeithKenithZenithSmileyJudithHeithGriffithLakeithAdvithMeredithAnvithKeithHarithAdithSmittyRohithSeith

Names with a curve like Smith

Not spelling — timing. These names rose, peaked and faded in the same years as Smith, so they read as being from the same moment even when they look nothing alike.

RansomEmmetLeopoldLinusHamptonAnselWylieCasperWestEmmitEnochHansel

Sibling names for Smith

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Smith

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