Common names

Oddly enough I was thinking about this just last week. I had a customer called mr Smith and it occurred to me, that I hadn’t heard the name in ages, when I was growing up it was a very common name, several families on our estate, and more at school.
Maybe they are all hyphenated now to Something-Smith.

Alegrias1

*Aldom*'s post jogged my memory. My dad's first name and surname are both quite common, in Scotland at least.

At school in the forties there were six boys in his class with the exact same name!

It was the late 40's early 50's when I was in primary school too.

I know a family of three sisters, who all married men called Smith.
There are lots around here.

There was a girl Smith in my class at school and DH played rugby with s Smith. Only two I've ever known.
I always had to spell my maiden name, unfortunately I also have to spell my married name too.
Smith would have been so much easier.

Johnson is pretty bad for ancestry research, too. Especially William Johnson - we have a couple of those on my husband’s side. Brown is another hard one, especially Mary Brown from London. Eeek. I know a lady called Di Young. Now I would have changed that one.

I think it’s nice when people are just called simple names like Smith. Better than when they change them to Smyth, or something Smyth with a hyphen.
Locally so many couples don’t bother getting married so virtually all of one class in our nearby school have double barrelled surnames. A bit like Eton I suppose.

This 2016 article says the latest count for Britain and Ireland was 500,000 Smiths - only 100,000 more than 1881.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-38003201

If you have access to Oxford English Dictionary databases via your county library card you may want to have a look at the entry for Smith in the OE Dictionary of Family Names of Britain and Ireland referred to in that article:

I think of Smith as a quintessentially British and Irish name but of course it has corresponding versions in other countries: Extract from the book:

The English surname has absorbed, by assimilation and translation, cognates and equivalents from many other languages, including Dutch Smit and German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) Schmidt.

Early bearers:

Franz Smith, born in Germany, in Census 1851 (Marylebone, Middx); Abraham Smith, 1857 in Great and Hambro Synagogue Births (London); Peter Smith, born in The Netherlands, in Census 1881 (Swansea, Glamorgan); George Smith, born in Sweden, in Census 1881 (Wavertree, Lancs); Frederick Smith, born in Dresden, Germany, in Census 1901 (Hammersmith, Middx); Samson Smith, born in Russia, in Census 1881 (Middlesbrough, NR Yorks); Harris Smith, born in Poland, in Census 1881 (Saint George in the East, Middx); Jacob Smith, born in Poland, in Census 1881 (Bromley, Kent); Hyman Smith, tailor’s machinist, born in Poland, in Census 1891 (Norwich, Norfolk); Wodak Smith, hairdresser, born in Poland, in Census 1911 (Islington, Middx).

My friend is a Smith, but to me the most common surname name is Jones. The small town my Grandmother was from is full of them, in fact her maiden name was Jones and she married a Jones - you possibly understand why I gave up with my family history studies?

Aldom's post jogged my memory. My dad's first name and surname are both quite common, in Scotland at least.

At school in the forties there were six boys in his class with the exact same name!

I transcribe BMD records and Census records for a couple of online sights and always surprised at how few Smiths/Jones there are in them. Maybe it's just that there weren't so many in Somerset back in the 1800s.
I only know of a couple lots now.

Interesting, thought provoking thread. I've always known about Smith being the most common surname, but haven't given any thought to it in recent years. I've been thinking hard to come up with people known to me by that name. I can only recall one family and that's from well over sixty years ago! But in primary school there was a boy called Ian Sixsmith! Does this count? Or is it One (6) Upmanship

My two cousins both married men called Smith.

Smiths are neighbours.
Taught with two teachers with the same christian name; one was a Smith and married, the other married and became one.

My Nan's maiden name was Smith - there were dozens of them!

My most glamorous friend is a Smith married to a John and DH went to school with a John Smith.

My 'maiden' name is very common in Ireland but spelt differently and my married name is very uncommon ...unless you count the family down the road who have the same name.

I went from a plain surname to my married name that is rather awful, both my sons were given hell at school for it. Dil has chosen not to take the name which at first dh and I were upset about at the time, but to be fair even double barrelling their surnames it sounded like a lunatic asylum

What a coincidence, This afternoon I watched a repeat programme of "Tenable". One of the questions was " What are the top ten most common surnames i Scotland"? The number one answer was "Smith", (I would never have guessed that!).

We have many Smiths and Joneses on our family tree.

We're here but many of us married and took our husband's name. At least I never had to spell Smith

My Gran was a Smith, I have plenty of Smith cousins.

My grandad was a Smith
Admitted I don’t think I know any now

We knew several Smith families.

Jones is very common here but I live in Wales.

I am here, by marriage

I have just looked mine up, there are only 56 in England so probably related to most of them.

My maiden name is Welsh, married name is Yorkshire and my Christian name is French.

I used to work with a Mrs Smith, but apart from her, I don't know any others.