Smaltz Surname History

Origins Available:
Scotland
Ireland
England

Smaltz is an ancient Dalriadan-Scottish nickname for a person who was small in stature. Smaltz is a nickname surname, which belongs to the category of hereditary surnames. Nicknames form a broad and miscellaneous class of surnames, and can refer directly or indirectly to one's personality, physical attributes, mannerisms, or even their habits of dress. The surname Smaltz derived from the Old English word smal, which means narrow, thin, or small, and referred to a person who was of slender build, or of small stature. This surname was established in Renfrew (now part of the Strathclyde region), prior to the Norman invasion of England, in 1066.

Early Origins of the Smaltz family

The surname Smaltz was first found in Renfrewshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Rinn Friù), a historic county of Scotland, today encompassing the Council Areas of Renfrew, East Renfrewshire, and Iverclyde, in the Strathclyde region of southwestern Scotland, where Richard Small was the Canon of Glasgow in 1329.

Early History of the Smaltz family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Smaltz research. Another 96 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1326, 1329, 1407, 1447, 1503, 1625, 1714 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Smaltz History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Smaltz Spelling Variations

Medieval translation of Gaelic names could not be referred to as an accurate process. Spelling was not yet standardized, and names in documents from that era are riddled with spelling variations. Smaltz has been written as Small, Smalle, Smal and others.

Early Notables of the Smaltz family

Another 50 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Smaltz Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Smaltz family to Ireland

Some of the Smaltz family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 60 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Smaltz family

Dalriadan families proliferated in North America. Their descendants still populate many communities in the eastern parts of both the United States and Canada. Some settled in Canada as United Empire Loyalists, in the wake of the American War of Independence. Families on both sides of the border have recovered much of their heritage in the 20th century through Clan societies and highland games. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Smaltz or a variant listed above: Edward and Francis Small, who settled in Maine in 1620; the same year as the "Mayflower"; Elizabeth Small, who settled in Virginia in 1639; Henry Small, who settled in Virginia in 1636.