KYLE SMITH

Of Scottish origin but now widely used in the English-speaking world. It is derived from a topographic term denoting a narrow strait or channel and in part is a transferred use of the surname, a local name from the region in Ayrshire so called. As a girl's name it appears to have been largely superseded by Kyla.

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).