ALBERT SMITH

From an Old French name, Albert, of Germanic (Frankish) origin, derived from adal ‘noble’ + berht ‘bright, famous’. This was adopted by the Normans and introduced by them to England, displacing the Old English form Æþelbeorht. The name is popular in a variety of forms in Western Europe, and has been traditional in a number of European princely families. It was out of favour in England for centuries, however, and the revival of its popularity in the 19th century was largely in honour of Queen Victoria's consort, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.

English: occupational name for a worker in metal, from Middle English smith (Old English smið, probably a derivative of smītan ‘to strike, hammer’). Metalworking was one of the earliest occupations for which specialist skills were required, and its importance ensured that this term and its equivalents were perhaps the most widespread of all occupational surnames in Europe. Medieval smiths were important not only in making horseshoes, plowshares, and other domestic articles, but above all for their skill in forging swords, other weapons, and armor. This is the most frequent of all American surnames; it has also absorbed, by assimilation and translation, cognates and equivalents from many other languages (for forms, see Hanks and Hodges 1988).