Smalls
A surname most likely formed from the nickname or descriptor “small,” originally meaning a short or slight person.
The #2,888 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 24,829 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Smalls is most likely an English nickname surname built on the adjective "small," meaning little, short, or slight. The final -s can mark a descriptive byname, a family form, or a later pluralized surname spelling. In origin it would have referred to someone of small stature or a person distinguished by that descriptive trait.
History
The available excerpts do not give a direct dictionary entry for this surname, only incidental mentions of bearers of the name. As a surname type, Smalls fits the common English pattern of descriptive nicknames becoming hereditary family names. The form is also seen in historical records and may sometimes overlap with the more common singular surname Small.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Because the name is so close to the everyday adjective, it often looks like a plural form, but in surnames that final -s can simply be part of the inherited family name.
From the historical record
“Barnctts, Buckleys, Broadwaj's, Drajiers, Aliens, Joneses, Glovers, Lights, Taylors, Williamses, Martins, Smalls, Blewitts, Carters, Bucklands, and Drapers. There arc also Ballachys, Loversedges, Corries, Eyreses, Lees in plenty, and Scamps more than enough ! It is not wonderful that Carcw is a favourite surname, when”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom