 Blacksmith at work | |
| Origin | |
|---|---|
| Meaning | Smith (metalwork) |
| Region of origin | Originally England |
| Other names | |
| Variant form(s) | Smith, Smythe |
Smyth is an early variant of the common surname Smith commonly found in Ireland. [1] Shown below are notable people who share the surname "Smyth".
Listed here are people who share the 'Smyth' surname, organized by birth year.
| Name | Birth | Death | Nationality •Notability •Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born after 1400 | ||||
| William Smyth [2] | c. 1460 | 1514 | English •Roman Catholic Bishop; Lord President of the Council of Wales and the Marches; co-founder of Brasenose College | |
| Richard Smyth (Regius Professor) [2] | c. 1499 | 1563 | English •first person to hold the office of Regius Professor of Divinity in the University of Oxford •migrated to France late in life | |
| Born after 1500 | ||||
| John Smyth | 1570 | 1612 | English •founder of the modern Baptist denomination in England | |
| Born after 1600 | ||||
| Born after 1700 | ||||
| Thomas Smyth [3] | 1740 | 1785 | Irish •Mayor of Limerick; member of Parliament •Smyth's children bore the surname 'Stuart' rather than 'Smyth' | |
| John Prendergast Smyth, 1st Viscount Gort [3] | 1742 | 1817 | Irish •Member of the House of Commons; Peer of Ireland as Baron Kiltarton and Viscount Gort •Born 'John Smyth'; took the name 'Pendergast' in 1760; reverted to name 'Smyth' in 1785. | |
| John Smyth | 1748 | 1811 | British •Master of the Mint of Great Britain and Lord High Treasurer; Member of Parliament | |
| Alexander Smyth | 1765 | 1830 | Irish-American •National politician; General during the War of 1812 •Born in Ireland and immigrated to the American colony of Virginia in 1775, at the age of 10 [4] | |
| George Stracey Smyth | 1767 | 1823 | English-Canadian •Second Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick, Canada •Born in England and migrated to Canada before 1798 | |
| James Carmichael Smyth | 1779 | 1838 | British •First Baron of Nutwood, Surrey; twenty-seventh Colonial Governor of the Bahamas; second Colonial Governor of British Guiana | |
| John Henry Smyth | 1780 | 1822 | English •Member of Parliament for the University of Cambridge | |
| William Henry Smyth [5] | 1788 | 1865 | English •Astronomer and author of the Bedford Catalogue of deep sky objects •Born to a Colonial American who immigrated to England after the American Revolution | |
| William Smyth (professor) | 1797 | 1868 | American •Mathematician and theologian; author of several widely used mathematics textbooks | |
| Born after 1800 | ||||
| George W. Smyth | 1803 | 1866 | American •National politician: third Representative from the Texas 1st Congressional District | |
| Clement Smyth | 1810 | 1865 | Irish-American •Roman Catholic Bishop •Immigrated to the United States before 1849 | |
| Sir Warington Wilkinson Smyth [5] | 1817 | 1890 | English •Geologist; member of the Royal Society; President of the Geological Society of London; Knighted in 1867 •Born to an English father while in Italy on a military posting | |
| Sir Edward Selby Smyth | 1819 | 1896 | Irish-Canadian •British General; first General Officer commanding the Militia of Canada; Knight of the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George •Immigrated to Canada before 1874 | |
| Frederick Smyth (New Hampshire politician) | 1819 | 1899 | American •Mayor of Manchester, New Hampshire; Governor of New Hampshire | |
| Charles Piazzi Smyth [5] | 1819 | 1900 | English •Astronomer Royal for Scotland; recipient of the Makdougall Brisbane Prize; pioneer in the field of infrared astronomy •Born to English father during Naval service in the Mediterranean | |
| William Smyth (congressman) | 1824 | 1870 | Irish-American •National politician: eighth Representative from the Iowa 2nd District (died in office) •Immigrated (with his parents) to the United States in 1838, at the age of 14 | |
| Sir Henry Augustus Smyth | 1825 | 1906 | Army General, Governor of the Cape Colony, Governor of Malta) | |
| Richard Smyth (minister) | 1826 | 1878 | Irish [6] •Academic; Member of Parliament | |
| Robert Brough Smyth | 1830 | 1899 | English-Australian •Secretary for the Department of Mines at the height of the Australian gold rushes; author of a significant work on the Australian aborigines of Victoria •Immigrated to Australia in 1852, at the age of 22 | |
| Thomas Alfred Smyth | 1832 | 1865 | Irish-American •Union Army General during the American Civil War •Immigrated to the United States in 1854, at the age of 22 | |
| Joseph Grigsby Smyth | 1847 | 1915 | American politician. Member of the Texas House of Representatives from 1870 to 1873. | |
| William Ross Smyth | 1857 | 1932 | Scottish-Canadian •National politician: second member of Parliament from Algoma East, Ontario •it is unclear when Mr. Smyth immigrated to Canada | |
| Herbert Weir Smyth | 1857 | 1937 | American •author of a notable comprehensive grammar of Ancient Greek | |
| Dame Ethel Smyth | 1858 | 1944 | English •Composer and leader of the women's suffrage movement in the United Kingdom of the early 20th century | |
| Albert Henry Smyth | 1863 | 1907 | Professor, writer, editor, curator for the American Philosophical Society; Widely noted among historians for finding hundreds of lost letters of Benjamin Franklin and publishing them for the first time. | |
| George Smyth (Canadian politician) | 1864 | 1938 | Canadian •Ontario Provincial politician | |
| Nevill Maskelyne Smyth | 1868 | 1941 | English •Victoria Cross recipient | |
| Sir John Smyth, 1st Baronet | 1893 | 1983 | English •Victoria Cross recipient; Member of Parliament; holder of the first Baronet of Teignmouth | |
| Henry DeWolf Smyth | 1898 | 1986 | American •physicist; author of the Smyth Report (first history of the Manhattan Project) | |
| Born after 1900 | ||||
| Larry Smyth | 1902 | 1960 | American •Journalist and public official | |
| Bill Smyth (umpire) | 1916 | 2007 | Australian •Cricket test match umpire; Officer of the Order of Australia | |
| Brendan Smyth (priest) | 1927 | 1997 | Northern Irish •Catholic priest, who used his position to facilitate the molestation of hundreds of children over a period of four decades | |
| Jimmy Smyth (hurler) | 1931 | 2013 | Irish •prominent hurling athlete | |
| Martin Smyth | 1931 | 2025 | Northern Irish •Grand Master of the Orange Order; eleventh Member of Parliament from the Belfast South constituency | |
| Gilli Smyth | 1933 | 2016 | English •Musician; co-founder of the band Gong and founder of the band Mother Gong | |
| Martin Smyth (boxer) | 1936 | 2012 | Irish Olympic boxer | |
| Hugh Smyth | 1941 | 2014 | Northern Irish •Fifty-first Lord Mayor of Belfast; first leader of the Progressive Unionist Party | |
| John Smyth | 1941 | 2018 | English Barrister | |
| Clifford Smyth | 1944 | (living) | Northern Irish •Historian and politician; second member of the Northern Ireland Assembly from the North Antrim constituency | |
| Tommy Smyth | 1946 | (living) | Irish-American •Sports journalist; football (soccer) commentator •Immigrated to the United States in 1963 | |
| Paul Smyth | 1947 | (living) | Australian •Professor of social policy | |
| Ken Smyth | 1948 | (living) | Australian •Politician | |
| William James Smyth | 1949 | (living) | Irish •Professor of geography; first university president of National University of Ireland Maynooth | |
| Alan Smyth | before 1990 | (living) | English •Music producer | |
| Anthony Smyth | before 1999 | (living) | Northern Irish •Arms smuggler | |
| Eric Smyth | before 1981 | (living) | Northern Irish •Fifty-second Lord Mayor of Belfast | |
| Malcolm Smyth | before 1972 | (living) | Irish •Academic analytical chemist | |
| Seán Smyth | before 1993 | (living) | Irish •Musician; All-Ireland Champion on fiddle and whistle | |
| Born after 1950 | ||||
| Des Smyth | 1953 | (living) | Irish •Professional golfer | |
| Patty Smyth | 1957 | (living) | American •Singer | |
| Phil Smyth | 1958 | (living) | Australian •Professional basketball player | |
| Brendan Smyth (politician) | 1959 | (living) | Australian •Politician; fourth Member of Parliament for the Division of Canberra | |
| Chas Smash | 1959 | (living) | English •Singer and dancer for the band Madness •born to the name "Cathal Joseph Patrick Smyth" to Irish–English immigrant parents | |
| Gerry Smyth | 1961 | (living) | Irish •Academic in the areas of Irish literature and music history | |
| William Smyth | 1962 | (living) | Northern Irish award-winning press photographer | |
| Bryan Smyth | 1963 | (living) | Irish •Singer, television personality and actor | |
| Karin Smyth | 1964 | (living) | English •Politician | |
| Brian Smyth | 1967 | (living) | Irish •Painter | |
| Stephen Smyth | 1968 | (living) | Northern Irish •Cricket player | |
| Jim Smyth | approx. 1970 | (living) | Canadian •Law enforcement officer | |
| Cameron Smyth | 1971 | (living) | American •California state politician | |
| Ryan Smyth | 1976 | (living) | Canadian •Professional ice hockey player | |
| Clare Smyth | 1978 | (living) | Northern Irish •Chef | |
| Sarah Smyth | 1982 | (living) | Canadian •Actress | |
| Mark Smyth | 1985 | (living) | English •Professional football player | |
| Eloise Smyth | 1995 | (living) | English •Actress | |
| Oisin Smyth | 2000 | (living) | Northern Irish •Professional football player | |
| Keith Smyth | 2003 | (living) | Irish •Professional hurler | |
| Justine Smyth | unknown | (living) | New Zealand •Professional director | |
The y in Smyth is the almost invariable spelling in early rolls, so that it cannot exactly be styled a modern affectation.
{{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help) Surnames associated with the occupation of smith | ||
|---|---|---|
| Celtic |  | |
| Germanic |
| |
| Romance | ||
| Semitic | ||
| Slavic |
| |
| Other | ||
| From "spark" rel. to occ. 'smith' | ||
