# Smedley (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/smedley/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A habitational surname from Old English.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | English |
| Type | place, taken from where an ancestor lived or came from |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 4,371 |
| US rank (2010) | 7,605 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 70,635 people |
| Change since 2000 | +2.0% (4,286 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

Perhaps from Old English smēþe (“smooth”) + lēah (“woodland clearing, glade”).

## Who carries it

Share of people named Smedley in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 83% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 11% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 3.0% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.7% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.2% |
| Two or more races | 2.5% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Smedley in the United Kingdom and the United States.

## People named Smedley

- Agnes Smedley, American journalist, writer, Comintern spy (1892-1950)
- Constance Smedley, author and founder of the International Lyceum Clubs
- Nikky Smedley, British actress

## Similar surnames

Smitley, Santillan, Schindler, Sandlin, Swindle, Sandler, Swindell, Schendel, Santillo, Sandell, Swindler, Santillanes.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.