The Smiley surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 19,829 people carried this name — #1,812 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 14,900 people counted. That is up 4% from 19,014 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Smiley surname

A Scottish surname transferred from the nickname, perhaps originally a byname for a happy, smiling person.

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

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 13 births for the Smiley name in 1890.

Most were registered in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 600 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. The count includes the spelling Smylie.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born, 1890

Ulster 11
Leinster 2

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

46 families named Smiley, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 270 people lived in those households, 5.9 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 6 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

Pennsylvania 19
Maine 5
New York 5
North Carolina 4
New Hampshire 3
Massachusetts 3
South Carolina 3
Vermont 2
Maryland 1
Virginia 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. 262 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Smiley in American newspapers,
1903–1914.

Newspaper page from The Princeton Union carrying the name Smiley
The Princeton Union 1914-07-02
Newspaper page from Virginia Gazette carrying the name Smiley
Virginia Gazette 1903-10-24
Newspaper page from The Pleasantville Press carrying the name Smiley
The Pleasantville Press 1914-07-11

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 85,248 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Smiley in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1990s.

5,879 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Smiley. The most, 1,328, date from the 1930s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Victoria, at 2.3 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 2,951
Western Australia 1,055
Queensland 696
New South Wales 577
South Australia 466
Tasmania 99
ACT (Canberra) 24
Northern Territory 3

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

Who carried it

People named Smiley,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Sarah Smiley d. 1904
  • Margaret Thompson Smiley d. 1907
  • John Smiley d. 1833
  • Margot Love Smiley d. 1904
  • Elizabeth Anne Kerr d. 1930
  • Jill Velia Kershaw d. 2002

Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Smiley,
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 States1,327 records

1,327 records of the Smiley name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 658
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 266
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 151
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 85
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 82
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 61
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 11
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 8
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 3
  • Ramsey County (Minnesota) Memorial Hall, war dead 1
  • Sacramento County historic burials 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Alfred F. Smiley

    Born 1909 in Oregon. Enlisted 1941 at Portland; lumberman from Yamhill County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1997, buried at Willamette National Cemetery, Oregon.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Annie Smiley

    Arrived at New York in 1890 aboard the Anchoria from Glasgow and Moville, aged 24; servant. From Tyrone, Ireland.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record William Thomas Smiley

    Born 1947; from Fresno, California. U.S. Army, armor reconnaissance specialist; killed in action 1968 in Pleiku, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)

Showing 3 of 1,327 records for Smiley 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) · Ramsey County, Minnesota (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain).

Canada284 records

284 records of the Smiley name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 253
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 8
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 7
  • City of Niagara Falls (Ontario) cemetery records 6
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 4
  • Halifax municipal cemeteries 2
  • City of Waterloo (Ontario) cemetery records 2
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 2
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Ernest H. Smiley

    Buried in 1990 at Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia, aged 73.

    Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Matthew Smiley

    Died 1932 in Port Dufferin, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record Herbert Henry Smiley

    Died in service in 1917.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.

Showing 3 of 284 records for Smiley in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

Australia138 records

138 records of the Smiley name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 67
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 38
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 22
  • Tasmanian Names Index 8
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 2
  • State Library of Western Australia indexes 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 Ellen Smiley

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Mariner, arriving 1825; certificate of freedom 1831.

    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 John Smiley

    Arrived in Victoria in 1853 aboard the Argo, aged 35; Irish.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Keith G. Smiley

    Butcher of Ascot Vale, Victoria; died 1954.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 138 records for Smiley in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (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); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

United Kingdom3 records

3 records of the Smiley name in the United Kingdom
  • Stirling Council burial records 2
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Gwendoline A. W. Smiley

    Died 1989, aged 87; buried at Dunblane Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record A. D. Smiley

    Tstralian Machine Gun Corps. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 2 of 3 records for Smiley in the United Kingdom.

Counts: Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Smiley.

When the index is not enough

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

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

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