Smith

الأصل والتاريخ

Occupational surname derived from Old English 'smitan', meaning 'to strike' or 'to smite', denoting a metal-worker — blacksmith, goldsmith, or coppersmith. The Scots Gaelic equivalent 'Mac a' Ghobhainn' (son of the smith) gave rise to the variant MacGowan, but the anglicised Smith became far more prevalent in the Lowlands after the Union. Its universality across trades ensured it became the most common surname in Scotland as in the rest of the English-speaking world.