Hi from Norfolk ( the real one in England :-) )

[JawsMC]

Hi folks,
Scottish by 1/8th blood and 100% nature
Originally found the forum whilst looking at the surname Smith, and was amazed to find folk on a Scottish forum did not know its true origins !!

[Crofter]

Hello, and welcome all 8/8ths of you to this forum, Jaws.

Just when we thought it was safe to get back in the water.

I don't envy you the task of looking for Smith relations amongst so many.

Hope you can elaborate on what it is you find amazing and look forward to your own take on some of the topics discussed here.

Regards,

Crofter.

[kathyv]

Welcome Jaws. I bet you have lots of relations!

[JawsMC]

Wellllllllllllllllllllll

After doing some serious archive work it would appear the name was not a name at all to start with, nor, as many folk believe, a job..
According to some sources dating to around the 700AD era, it was originally a rank in some of the highland clans
The rank ( apparently ) was equivalent to that of armourer.
And of course, from that came the belief that it was a professional title..

From what I can gather the Smith would have had a few people working under him but he would always be the one to do the high tech ( !! )stuff with the weaponry .. the final tempering or polishing I suppose

As washing and bathing was not too high on the to do list of the day, and as the job involved an awful lot of chances to get absolutely filthy, the term dark Smith or dirt Smith or indeed black Smith was given birth to.

There are a few variants of course, as in Smyth, Smythe, Smithe and it would appear the original version was indeed Smyth or Smythe.

Soooo... there you have all the info I have managed to glean over the past 40+ years of digging in dusty musty libraries !!

[Polwarth]

Welcome to Scotland.com!

I was under the impression that 'Smith' was a name common throughout Europe, not just in the constituent countries of the UK

If you can prove your ancestry back to a Scot, that may then lead you through OPCs to a specific clan.

[wullie m]

I think Gow or MacGowan means Smith, from Gaelic. Some occupational names in Scotland date from as late as the 15th century.
wullie m.

[JCfromGA]

Welcome *shakes hand*


Yeah, we look forward to your take on this website!!!


Crofter!!! I thought you ran away you slick one.