Smollett Surname

948,111th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 276 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
United States
Highest density in:
Bahamas

Smollett Surname Definition:

John Smolet was one of the sheriffs of King James v in the Lennox, 1513 (Lennox, II. p. 208). Martin (p. 253) says that one ot the ships of the Spanish Armada in Tobermory Bay was "blown up by one Smallet of Dumbarton, in the year 1588." Harrison derives the name from Old English srnælheafod, 'small head.

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Smollett Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States581:6,249,292299,206
Canada541:682,32655,162
Scotland541:99,1456,812
England421:1,326,62059,571
Australia331:818,05251,601
New Zealand261:174,16618,836
Bahamas41:97,9381,027
Germany11:80,505,459560,955
Hong Kong11:7,335,48316,643
South Africa11:54,177,704343,732
Thailand11:70,638,3451,175,915
Wales11:3,094,53244,023
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Scotland131:287,9409,345
England61:4,062,562101,150
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States61:8,369,781355,680

Smollett Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

John Smolet was one of the sheriffs of King James v in the Lennox, 1513 (Lennox, II. p. 208). Martin (p. 253) says that one ot the ships of the Spanish Armada in Tobermory Bay was "blown up by one Smallet of Dumbarton, in the year 1588." Harrison derives the name from Old English srnælheafod, 'small head.' in connection with this etymology he cites an anonymous writer of 1760 who referred to Tobias Smollett, the novelist, as "Sawney Mac Smallhead," but of course we are not to take that as proof of Harrison's etymology. Baring-Gould says it comes from Samuel. John Smollert was suspected of being a fellow conspirator of the earl of Bothwell, 1591 (Moysie, Memoirs, p. 88). John Smolate was witness to a notarial instrument of sale of land of Temple of Ballakenrane, 1457 (Strathendrick, p. 192). Tobias Smallet, bailie of Dumbarton, was murdered by the Macgregors in 1604 (Trials, II:, p. 432). Tobias George Smollett (1721—1771), novelist, was born in Dumbartonshire. Smallat 1690, Smallot 1700, Smolet 1506, Smollat 1500, Smollatt 1647, Smollot 1705, Smollote 1587.

The Surnames of Scotland (1946) by George Fraser Black (1866-1948)

(English) Small-Head [Old English smæl + heáfod]

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

(English, Scottish) One who had a small head.

Dictionary of American Family Names (1956) by Elsdon Coles Smith

User-submitted Reference

Smollett is an American variant of a Slavic-Jewish surname. It was originally Smolovich. It is derived from the Slavic, smola, meaning 'tar'. It was a common occupation in Europe to collect various types of resin or tar for use in adhesives and other products. It is possible Smollett bearers' paternal ancestors practised this trade. Or they may have hailed form one of the many places in Slavic-speaking countries whose names are derived from smola, such as Smolec in Poland and Smolensk in Russia.

- Forebears.io

Smollett Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name Smollett Come From? nationality or country of origin

The surname Smollett is found most in The United States. It can also occur in the variant forms:. For other potential spellings of this name click here.

How Common Is The Last Name Smollett? popularity and diffusion

The last name Smollett is the 948,111th most frequent surname on earth, borne by approximately 1 in 26,404,152 people. The surname occurs predominantly in Europe, where 36 percent of Smollett are found; 35 percent are found in Northern Europe and 35 percent are found in British Isles.

It is most frequently used in The United States, where it is borne by 58 people, or 1 in 6,249,292. In The United States Smollett is most common in: California, where 24 percent are found, New York, where 14 percent are found and North Carolina, where 12 percent are found. Excluding The United States it occurs in 11 countries. It is also found in Canada, where 20 percent are found and Scotland, where 20 percent are found.

Smollett Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The frequency of Smollett has changed over time. In The United States the share of the population with the last name expanded 967 percent between 1880 and 2014; in Scotland it expanded 415 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in England it expanded 700 percent between 1881 and 2014.

Smollett Last Name Statistics demography

In The United States those bearing the Smollett last name are 46.77% more likely to be registered Democrats than the national average, with 100% registered with the political party.

The amount Smollett earn in different countries varies somewhat. In United States they earn 9.94% more than the national average, earning $47,438 USD per year and in Canada they earn 3.27% less than the national average, earning $48,059 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Smollet93113/
Smolett9314/
Smallett881/
Smollitt880/
Smolle86178/
Smalletts821/
Smoller80573/
Smolley80176/
Smolets8036/
Smallet805/
Smolles803/
Smoletz803/
Smollie801/
Smoille800/
Smole771,570/
Smallets7563/
Schmolle7515/
Shmoller7514/
Smalletz7512/
Ssmoller757/
Smoley711,037/
Smolej711,027/
Smoler71686/
Smalle71245/
Smoleň71238/
Smolla71175/
Smolei71121/
Smolje7152/
Smoole7146/
Smolly7128/
Smolli7110/
Smoles713/
Smolez712/
Jmolle711/
Schmoelet711/
Smolit711/
Smalet711/
Smolie711/
Szmole711/
Smalley6721,957/
Smaller67627/
Smallie67191/
Schmole67130/
Smalets6779/
Smaletz6739/
Smoglie6714/
Smalles675/
Schmmoller674/
Smaleit671/
Smoules671/
Smolech671/
Smallez671/
Zmoller671/
Schmoulles670/
Smouley670/
Smolher670/

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Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Smollett
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis