Smith Family Crest, Coat of Arms & Smith Name Origin

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Origin of the Name Smith

The origin of the name Smith was found in the allfamilycrests.com archives. Smith is an occupational name meaning 'Blacksmith'. Variants of this name include Smithe, Smyth and Smythe. This name was common to every village in Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales, as it was a popular tradition to use the name of the occupation of blacksmiths and armorers. In Scotland it was recorded that a Robert Smith witnessed a charter by John Bishop of Dunkeld in the year 1199 and in England a Phillip le Smithe, County Huntingdonshire, was recorded in the 'Hundred Rolls' in the year 1273. A Willemus Smyght was recorded in the 'Poll Tax', of the West Riding of Yorkshire, in the year 1379. The Irish surnames McGowan and McGuane are hidden under the synonym Smith, in Irish 'Mac an Ghabhain', meaning 'son of smith'. They were one of the principal septs of Breffney, their territory being County Leitrim and the North-West Counties of Donegal and Sligo.