Smiley
A surname most often treated as a nickname for someone pleasant, cheerful, or mild-looking.
The #1,812 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 15,570 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The name is usually explained as coming from a Middle English or Scots nickname based on a word for being smooth, serene, or smiling in expression. Older surname writers also connected it with a personal-name form behind the Scots names Smail and Smellie, so the exact path can vary by family line. In Ireland, some bearers may represent an Anglicized form used in Ulster alongside other local surname traditions, rather than a single shared origin.
History
The surname appears in English and Scottish records and was later carried into Ireland, especially Ulster, where 19th-century sources note it among local families. In North America it remained a relatively uncommon but established surname, and modern U.S. census counts show a modest, widely dispersed presence. Because the name can arise from more than one source, different Smiley families may not be related.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
19th-century surname compilers sometimes grouped Smiley with other surnames that evoked pleasant qualities, such as Joy, Sweet, and Lovejoy.
From the historical record
“[Smiles. See Smail Smiley. See Smellie .Smirke. FI. Smerche ; a p.n. ; A.S. smcerc (a smile) Smith. N. SmiSr; D. Schmidt, Schmith, Smidt, Smidth, Smit,”
— British Family Names: their origin and meaning (2nd ed.)