Smithson
A patronymic surname meaning “son of Smith.”
The #5,032 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 44,246 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Smithson is an English patronymic built from the occupational surname Smith plus the suffix -son, meaning “son of.” In plain terms, it originally identified someone as the son of a smith, a metalworker. The name is transparently formed and does not usually point to a place-name or clan name.
History
The surname is recorded in English sources as a straightforward patronymic, and 19th-century surname writers regularly cite it alongside other -son formations such as Wrightson and Taylorson. It was never among the most common English surnames, but it survived as a recognizable hereditary family name and later spread beyond Britain through migration to North America and other English-speaking regions.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Because smiths were so common in medieval villages, surnames based on “Smith” and its derivatives are among the most widespread in the English-speaking world.
From the historical record
“smithy] SMITHSON, Smith's Son : v. Smith. SMITHURST (Eng.) i Dweller at the Smith's Wood [O.E. smi^ + hyrst, a wood] 2 for Smethupst', q.v. Lawrence Smythurst and Henry Smyth- urst (of Lomax, Bury).— Lattc- Fines, A.D. 1546.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)