How common is the surname Smoot?

9,168 people in the United States had the surname Smoot in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 33,676 Americans. It ranked 3,868th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Smoot?

George F. Smoot, American astrophysicist and cosmologist (1945–2025).

Where is the surname Smoot most common?

Wikidata records people named Smoot in the United States.

Is the surname Smoot getting more or less common?

More common. 8,955 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 9,168 in 2010, up 2.4%.

The surname Smoot

A surname, carried by 9,168 people in the United States.

1 syllable Soundex S530

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Smoot is more common than 97.6% of them.

Origin

Likely from the Dutch smout, someone who sold or worked with animal fat.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 9,168 people named Smoot in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 33,676 Americans. That is up 2.4% since 2000, when the Census counted 8,955.

#3,868

rank among US surnames

9,168

people in 2010

3.1

per 100,000 Americans

+2.4%

change since 2000 (was #3,646)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#3,859	Peter	9,191	33,592
#3,860	Maki	9,190	33,596
#3,861	Bowens	9,188	33,603
#3,862	Stutzman	9,185	33,614
#3,863	Lea	9,180	33,632
#3,864	Klinger	9,179	33,636
#3,865	Buss	9,177	33,643

Who is named Smoot

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

66% of people named Smoot identified as white (not Hispanic), 29% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.5% as two or more races.

White (not Hispanic) 66%
Black (not Hispanic) 29%
Two or more races 2.5%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 1.5%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.5%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.5%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Smoots

1 notable person on Wikidata, most written-about first

George F. Smoot
American astrophysicist and cosmologist (1945–2025)

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Smoot

Smit

Smoot has the Soundex code S530, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code S530.

Questions

Where does the surname Smoot come from?: Likely from the Dutch smout, someone who sold or worked with animal fat.
How common is the surname Smoot?: 9,168 people in the United States had the surname Smoot in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 33,676 Americans. It ranked 3,868th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Smoot?: In the 2010 Census, 66% of people named Smoot identified as white (not Hispanic), and 29% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Smoot?: George F. Smoot, American astrophysicist and cosmologist (1945–2025).
Where is the surname Smoot most common?: Wikidata records people named Smoot in the United States.
Is the surname Smoot getting more or less common?: More common. 8,955 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 9,168 in 2010, up 2.4%.