Family name origins & meanings
- Probably a Slavic or Americanized
- from Middle High German smerl ‘gudgeon’ (a small freshwater fish), hence a metonymic occupational name for a fisherman or a seller of these fish. The gudgeon was considered gullible, so it may be a nickname for a gullible person.
- metonymic occupational name for a falconer, from Middle High German smire ‘falcon’.