How common is the surname Nesmith?

7,097 people in the United States had the surname Nesmith in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 43,504 Americans. It ranked 4,955th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Nesmith?

Michael Nesmith, American musician, songwriter, actor (1942–2021), followed by Aaron Nesmith.

Where is the surname Nesmith most common?

Wikidata records people named Nesmith in the United States.

Is the surname Nesmith getting more or less common?

More common. 6,898 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 7,097 in 2010, up 2.9%.

The surname Nesmith

An English occupational surname, carried by 7,097 people in the United States.

2 syllables Soundex N253

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Nesmith is more common than 96.9% of them.

Origin

English origin

Occupational surname for a maker of knives or nails, from Middle English knyf (“knife”) or nayl (“nail”) + smith.

Nesmith is an occupational surname: named after the work an ancestor did.

One of 1,446 English surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 7,097 people named Nesmith in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 43,504 Americans. That is up 2.9% since 2000, when the Census counted 6,898.

#4,955

rank among US surnames

7,097

people in 2010

2.4

per 100,000 Americans

+2.9%

change since 2000 (was #4,698)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#4,951	Enright	7,108	43,436
#4,952	Ackley	7,102	43,473
#4,953	Bankston	7,101	43,479
#4,955	Nesmith	7,097	43,504

Who is named Nesmith

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

52% of people named Nesmith identified as white (not Hispanic), 41% as Black (not Hispanic) and 3.9% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 52%
Black (not Hispanic) 41%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 3.9%
Two or more races 1.8%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.6%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.4%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Nesmiths

4 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Michael Nesmith
American musician, songwriter, actor (1942–2021)
Aaron Nesmith
American basketball player (born 1999)
James Nesmith
American politician, 1820–1885
Ottola Nesmith
Actress (1889-1972)

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Variant spellings

Naismith
Nessmith

Nesmith has the Soundex code N253, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code N253.

Other English surnames

All 1,446 English surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Nesmith come from?: Occupational surname for a maker of knives or nails, from Middle English knyf (“knife”) or nayl (“nail”) + smith.
How common is the surname Nesmith?: 7,097 people in the United States had the surname Nesmith in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 43,504 Americans. It ranked 4,955th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Nesmith?: In the 2010 Census, 52% of people named Nesmith identified as white (not Hispanic), and 41% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Nesmith?: Michael Nesmith, American musician, songwriter, actor (1942–2021), followed by Aaron Nesmith.
Where is the surname Nesmith most common?: Wikidata records people named Nesmith in the United States.
What type of surname is Nesmith?: Nesmith is an occupational surname, named after the work an ancestor did.
Is the surname Nesmith getting more or less common?: More common. 6,898 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 7,097 in 2010, up 2.9%.
What are other spellings of Nesmith?: Naismith and Nessmith.