Smithe
Smithe is a rare surname related to the common surname Smith.
Other names | |
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Variant form(s) | Smith |
Among notable people sharing this surname is William Smithe. Other instances appear in genealogical resource searches, but associated with the general population.
- England (1842–1887) William Smithe, emigrated to Canada
Etymology
In the mid-19th Century, a supposition was published that people may well alter a single letter in their 'Smith' surname for reasons of status or recognition; as Lower puts it, "...yet it would appear, from the addition and alteration of a letter, that some families are anxious to avoid the imputation of so plebeian an origin."[1] In the 1842 novel Zanoni, Lytton articulates a variation on this by suggesting people changing surname from 'Smith' to 'Smithe' may well be trying to increase the stature of their surname by approaching ever so slightly a purported surname of the god Apollo: Smintheus.[2]
Frequency
In looking at various surname frequency resources, the rarity of 'Smithe' is apparent. In the
Notes
References
- Harper & Brothers. p. 94. Retrieved 2008-03-21.
- Longley, Paul; Alex Singleton; Richard Webber; Daryl Lloyd. "SMITHE". SPLINT Project, University College London. ) Note: Attempts to link directly to search results pages result in failure to find the site.
- Lower, Mark Antony (1860) [1860]. Patronymica Britannica: A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom (PDF (Internet Archive)). London: John Russell Smith. pp. 320. Retrieved 2008-03-22.
- US Census Bureau staff (2000-09-07). "Search names from 1990 Census". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original (Database search result) on 1997-02-07. Retrieved 2008-03-22.
NAME (last):SMITHE ; %FREQ:0.000% ; CUMM FREQ:89.453% ; RANK:78,005 (reformatted quote)