2000
#1,344
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 24,114
First available Census row
Per 100,000 8.94
Uncommon Last name
Smart
An English occupational surname for a person who was quick-witted, clever, or intelligent.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 28,103 Americans carry the last name Smart. That puts it at #1,414 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 8.20 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 12,196 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Smart 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Smart with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
28K
1 in 12,196
Census rank
#1,414
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
8.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
25K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 24,507 bearers of the surname Smart in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 8.20 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1414th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Smart, the largest self-reported group is White at 69.4%. The next largest groups are Black (20.4%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Smart
The surname SMART is of English origin, derived from the Middle English word 'smert' meaning 'smart' or 'clever'. It first appeared in the late 12th century and was likely used as a nickname for someone considered intelligent or quick-witted.
The earliest known record of the SMART surname is found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1195, where a certain William Smert is mentioned. In the Hundred Rolls of 1273, there are entries for a Robert Smert in Oxfordshire and a William Smert in Cambridgeshire.
The SMART surname can also be traced back to various place names in England, such as Smerton in Wiltshire and Smeeton in Leicestershire. These place names may have influenced the spelling and pronunciation of the surname over time.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the SMART surname was Robert Smart, a Scottish minister and theologian who lived from 1554 to 1628. He was a prominent figure during the Protestant Reformation and served as the Principal of the University of Glasgow.
Another historical figure was Sir George Thomas Smart, an English musician and composer born in 1776. He was the conductor of the Philharmonic Society of London and played a significant role in promoting the works of Beethoven in England.
In the 19th century, John Smart, an English artist and engraver, gained recognition for his landscape paintings and prints. He was born in 1838 and is known for his depictions of rural scenes in England.
One of the most famous individuals with the SMART surname was Christopher Smart, an English poet and writer born in 1722. His works include the celebrated poem "A Song to David" and the satire "The Hilliad".
In the field of science, William Smart, a Scottish mathematician and astronomer born in 1853, made significant contributions to the study of celestial mechanics and the theory of planetary motion.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who carried the SMART surname. While the name has its origins in England, it has since spread to various parts of the world and continues to be a prominent surname in many countries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Smart
Among Census respondents with the surname Smart, the largest self-reported group is White at 69.4%. The next largest groups are Black (20.4%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Smart 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 Smart surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White69.4% · 17,005
- Black or African American20.4% · 5,008
- Two or more races4.2% · 1,028
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 873
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 340
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 253
Timeline
Historical Census data for Smart
Smart 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
#1,388
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 25,528
+1,414 bearers (+5.9%)
Per 100,000 8.65
Rank movement Down 44 places
2020
#1,414
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 24,507
-1,021 bearers (-4.0%)
Per 100,000 8.20
Rank movement Down 26 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,344 | 24,114 | 8.94 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,388 | 25,528 | 8.65 | +1,414 bearers (+5.9%) | Down 44 places |
| 2020 | #1,414 | 24,507 | 8.20 | -1,021 bearers (-4.0%) | Down 26 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 Smart 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 | #1,388 | #1,414 | -1.9% |
| Count | 25,528 | 24,507 | -4.0% |
| Per 100K | 8.65 | 8.20 | -5.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Smart bearers went from 25,528 to 24,507 (-4.0% change). The surname moved down 26 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,388 to #1,414.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Smart
FAQ
Smart surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Smart?
Name Census estimates that about 28,103 living Americans carry the surname Smart. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 12,196 residents.
How common is Smart?
Smart ranks #1,414 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 8.20 per 100,000 residents, which is about 8 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 24,507 people with the surname Smart. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (28,103), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 8.2 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 8.20 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 8 of them to have the surname Smart.
Has Smart become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Smart went from 25,528 recorded bearers to 24,507. That is a decrease of 1,021 (-4.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,388 to #1,414.
What does the Census say about the background of Smart?
Among Census respondents with the surname Smart, the largest self-reported group is White at 69.4%. The next largest groups are Black (20.4%) and Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Smart in the 2020 Census, accounting for 69.4% (17,005 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Smart appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (69.4%), Black (20.4%), Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Smart (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 Smart mean?
An English occupational surname for a person who was quick-witted, clever, or intelligent. 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 Smart (8.20 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 common is the surname Smart?
You can see how many Americans have the surname Smart on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.