Smits is a Dutch surname that is considered a variant of the more common Smit surname.[1] The name is an old plural of Smid (blacksmith), though the plural in modern Dutch would be Smeden.
Language(s) | Dutch |
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Origin | |
Meaning | variant of Smit, which derives from the Dutch word for metal worker |
Region of origin | Netherlands |
Other names | |
Variant form(s) | Smit (by origin) Smith (by meaning) Smeets |
Information for surname frequency in the Netherlands is limited by the end of comprehensive census taking in 1971.[2] The most recent readily available information is based on the 1947 census, for which both raw census data and surname frequency data have been made available to the general public. In 1947 there were 15,151 recorded people with the surname Smits,[3] while the general census provides a figure of 9,519,000 as the 1947 population.[4] Working with this data the frequency of the Smits surname in the Netherlands in 1947 can be calculated to be ~0.159% or ~1,590 of every 1,000,000 people,[5] which is ½ the frequency of the surname Smit, of which Smits is a variant.[1][6] In 2007 there were 23,205 carriers of this surname in The Netherlands and 3,888 in Belgium.[7]
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