The Smothers surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 7,444 people carried this name — #4,756 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 39,700 people counted. That is up 4% from 7,125 in 2000.

Look up another surname

Share

In print

Smothers in American newspapers,
1875–1898.

Newspaper page from The Topeka State Journal carrying the name Smothers
The Topeka State Journal 1898-12-14
Newspaper page from The Wichita Daily Eagle carrying the name Smothers
The Wichita Daily Eagle 1898-12-16
Newspaper page from The Wheeling Daily Register carrying the name Smothers
The Wheeling Daily Register 1875-04-28

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 294,895 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Smothers in Australian newspapers,
1860s–1950s.

88 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Smothers. The most, 29, 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 1.6 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 29
New South Wales 18
Queensland 13
South Australia 12
Western Australia 12
Tasmania 3
ACT (Canberra) 1

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

Who carried it

People named Smothers,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Joseph Smothers
    Joseph Smothers 1830– · politician
  • Tracy Smothers
    Tracy Smothers 1962–2020 · professional wrestler
  • Otis "Big Smokey" Smothers 1929–1993 · singer
  • Clay Smothers 1935–2004 · teacher
  • Tom Smothers 1937–2023 · screenwriter
  • Little Smokey Smothers 1939–2010 · singer

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 8 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Smothers,
in the records of 2 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 States380 records

380 records of the Smothers name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 230
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 122
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 14
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 7
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 3
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 3
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 1
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Danny Lee Smothers

    Born 1947; from Carson City, Nevada. U.S. Army, infantryman; died of wounds 1968 in Quang Tri, South Vietnam. Buried at Willamette National Cemetery, Oregon.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Burrell E. Smothers

    Born 1918 in California. Enlisted 1940 at Fort Macarthur San Pedro; auto mechanic. U.S. Air Force veteran of World War II; died 2001, buried at Riverside National Cemetery, California.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A U.S. Army record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864
    Example: U.S. burial record, 1864
    Burial record Benjamin H. Smothers

    U.S. Army veteran of World War I. Born 1889, died 1948; buried at Wood National Cemetery, Wisconsin.

    U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)

Showing 3 of 380 records for Smothers 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) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864, U.S. National Archives (public domain).

Canada3 records

3 records of the Smothers name in Canada Nova Scotia Archives name indexes
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Sarah Smothers

    Died 1875 in Guysborough, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Melville Smothers

    Married 1888 in Pictou, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record John Smothers

    Died 1912 in Guysborough, 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: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Smothers.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Smothers 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.

See the Smothers volume
Scroll to Top