Smoot
A surname that may be a shortened or variant form related to Smith, though its exact origin is uncertain.
The #3,868 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 33,676 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The historical sources you provided suggest Smoot may be a spelling variant or reduced form linked to Smith and related forms such as Smout or Smoote. One 19th-century commentator explicitly treated Smoot as belonging to a cluster of names derived from Smith, though that claim is not firmly demonstrated. The name may also reflect phonetic spelling or regional variation rather than a separate etymology.
History
The surname appears in 19th-century American records and is noted by surname scholars as an established family name. Because the old sources mention it only incidentally, the exact pathway from earlier forms is not fully secure. In practice, Smoot is best treated as an English surname with a probable connection to Smith-type forms.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
A 19th-century surname writer grouped Smoot with several Smith-related spellings, showing how fluid surname forms could be in older records.
From the historical record
“SMUT. A name found in Lower's Appendix. The same as Smout, Smoot, Smoote, Smyth, Smythe, Smith. Cf. Smooth- man, which is doubtless a corruption of Smithyman or Smither- iTian. All these names,' as well as Smither, Smyther, and Smithers, are found in Bowditch.”
— Ludus Patronymicus; or, the etymology of curious surnames