JULIE SMITH

(French) form of Julia. This was imported to the English-speaking world in the 1920s, and soon became a great favourite. Its popularity was increased in the 1960s by the fame of the British actresses Julie Harris (b. 1925), Julie Andrews (b. 1935 as Julia Wells), Julie Christie (b. 1940), and, more recently, of Julie Waters (b. 1950).

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).