<Tr> <Th> Variant (s) </Th> <Td> numerous </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> Footnotes: </Td> </Tr> <P> Smith is a surname originating in England . It is the most prevalent surname in the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States, the second most common surname in Canada, and the fifth most common surname in the Republic of Ireland . The surname Smith is particularly prevalent among those of English, Scottish and Irish descent, but is also a common surname among African Americans, which can be attributed to black slaves being forced to adopt the name during slavery and never changing the name upon the end of the era of slavery and after the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation . 2,376,206 Americans shared the surname Smith during the 2000 census, and more than 500,000 people share it in the United Kingdom . At the turn of the 20th century, the surname was sufficiently prevalent in England to have prompted the statement: "Common to every village in England, north, south, east and west"; and sufficiently common on the (European) continent (in various forms) to be "common in most countries of Europe". </P> <P> The name refers to a smith, originally deriving from smið or smiþ, the Old English term meaning one who works in metal related to the word smitan, the Old English form of smite, which also meant strike (as in early 17th century Biblical English: the verb "to smite" = to hit). The Old English word smiþ comes from the Proto - Germanic word smiþaz . Smithy comes from the Old English word smiðē from the Proto - Germanic smiðjon . The use of Smith as an occupational surname dates back to Anglo - Saxon times, when inherited surnames were still unknown: Ecceard Smith of County Durham, North East England, was recorded in 975 . </P>

What is the origin of the surname smith