The Most Common Last Name in the U. S.
 

If you have a Smith in your family, you have a staggering 81 million records to pore through on Ancestry.
Smith has long been the most common surname in both the United States and Great Britain.
Each U.S. census lists more and more Smiths, from 274,919 in 1850 to 2,376,206 in 2000.
Yet the name is far from generic and has a rich and complicated history.

Surnames began to come about in the Middle Ages, when people were often identified by their trade.
Just about every village in Britain had a smith, usually a blacksmith, who made horseshoes, plows, swords, armor, and other needed items.
These workers were skilled and had status in the community, which contributed to the name’s wide usage.
Some names were once more specific, with people called Combsmith or Smithson, and were later shortened to Smith.

Reference: Ancestry

A good friend of mine had the name Smith growing up.....she wished for a less common name....married and now her name is Boedigheimer....her first graders can barely say that mouthful...they often call her Mrs. Bo.

One of the reasons Smith is the most common name in America can be attributed to Joseph Smith founder of the Mormons. Smith began his church in Palmyra, New York. We learned in New York State history about Joseph Smith and traveled to Palmyra to visit his church. Joseph Smith was so prolific he populated the majority of this western upstate county.:D

When my Mom remarried and became Mrs. Smith she was so excited because she could now buy Mrs. Smith's frozen pies and pass them off as her own....

Hmmm, then why do we ALL say "We need to Keep-Up with the Jones's" :shrug:

Back in the 1970's in Rochester, NY I met a Jim Smith who was going to a Jim Smith get together of some kind. In 1969 a Jim Smith in PA started the group which now has 2,000 members. Thousands of people named Jim Smith gather in Winston-Salem | myfox8.com

There are so many interesting stories that revolve around surnames.