Explore the Family Name Smethurst

The meaning of Smethurst

English (Lancashire): habitational name from Smethurst in Middleton by Oldham (Lancashire). The placename is from Old English smēthe ‘smooth, level’ + hyrst ‘hillock, copse’.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Smethurst in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname Smethurst saw a slight decrease between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, it ranked as the 44,895th most popular surname, falling to 45,740th in 2010, a small decline of 1.88%. However, the count of individuals with this surname actually increased by 3.78% from 450 in 2000 to 467 in 2010. This means that despite its drop in rank, the use of the surname Smethurst actually expanded during this decade. The proportion per 100k people also saw a minimal decrease of 5.88%, moving from 0.17 in 2000 to 0.16 in 2010.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#44,895	#45,740	-1.88%
Count	450	467	3.78%
Proportion per 100k	0.17	0.16	-5.88%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Smethurst

In terms of ethnicity, the Decennial U.S. Census data indicates that the majority of individuals with the surname Smethurst identified as White both in 2000 and 2010. Their proportion increased from 94.22% to 96.57% over the decade, marking a 2.49% upward shift. The data shows no individuals identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander, Black, or American Indian and Alaskan Native in either year. There was a significant decrease in those identifying with two or more ethnicities, dropping from 2.89% to 1.28%, a change of -55.71%. The proportion of individuals identifying as Hispanic also decreased from 2.00% in 2000 to 1.28% in 2010, a reduction of 36.00%.

	2000	2010	Change
White	94.22%	96.57%	2.49%
Two or More Races	2.89%	1.28%	-55.71%
Hispanic	2%	1.28%	-36%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%