The Nesmith surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 7,097 people carried this name — #4,955 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 41,500 people counted. That is up 3% from 6,898 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Nesmith surname

A surname from Middle English [in turn originating as an occupation].

Occupational surname for a maker of knives or nails, from Middle English knyf (“knife”) or nayl (“nail”) + smith.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Nesmith» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as an occupational name: ‘the nail-smith’.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 550 · public domain.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

21 families named Nesmith, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 105 people lived in those households, 5 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 3 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

New Hampshire 10
South Carolina 7
Maine 1
Vermont 1
Pennsylvania 1
Maryland 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 255 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Nesmith in American newspapers,
1897–1914.

Newspaper page from The Silver Messenger carrying the name Nesmith
The Silver Messenger 1897-06-29
Newspaper page from Newark Evening Star And Newark Advertiser carrying the name Nesmith
Newark Evening Star And Newark Advertiser 1914-12-04

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 19,306 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Nesmith in Australian newspapers,
1860s–1930s.

41 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Nesmith. The most, 14, date from the 1930s.

Articles, by state

Victoria 16
New South Wales 15
Queensland 4
Western Australia 3
South Australia 1
Tasmania 1

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Nesmith.

Who carried it

People named Nesmith,
with a public archive behind them.

  • John Nesmith
    John Nesmith 1793–1869 · businessperson
  • James Nesmith
    James Nesmith 1820–1885 · lawyer
  • Ottola Nesmith
    Ottola Nesmith 1889–1972 · actor
  • Bette Nesmith Graham
    Bette Nesmith Graham 1924–1980 · secretary
  • Eliza Thom Bell 1806–1836
  • Henry Edwin Nesmith 1828–1901

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Nesmith,
in the records of 4 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States263 records

263 records of the Nesmith name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 132
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 64
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 32
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 13
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 10
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 6
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 4
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 2
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Hervie M. Nesmith

    Born 1913 in Texas. Enlisted 1942 at Houston; driver from Harris County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1987, buried at Houston National Cemetery, Texas.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Leroy Nesmith

    Born 1946; from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. U.S. Marine Corps, rifleman; killed in action 1969 in Quang Nam, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record James Nesmith

    Arrived at New York in 1849 aboard the Guy Mannering from Liverpool, aged 14; servant. From Ireland.

    U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain)

Showing 3 of 263 records for Nesmith in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Netherlands6 records

6 records of the Nesmith name in the Netherlands Dutch church registers before 1811
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Adam Nesmith

    Married in 1711 in Rotterdam; corporal.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Grijsel Nesmith

    Married in 1642 in Rotterdam; born in Schotlant.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Barbara Nesmith

    Married in 1665 in Rotterdam.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 6 records for Nesmith in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Australia4 records

4 records of the Nesmith name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 2
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 1
  • Tasmanian Names Index 1
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record James Nesmith

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Asia, arriving 1820; certificate of freedom 1833.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Thos Nesmith

    Arrived in Victoria in 1861 aboard the Latona.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record John Nesmith

    Died 1860 in Longford, Tasmania, aged 87.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 4 records for Nesmith in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Canada1 record

1 record of the Nesmith name in Canada Nova Scotia Archives name indexes
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record John Nesmith

    Married 1820 in New Brunswic, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Nesmith.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Nesmith is.
A volume says what happened to it.

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