The most common surname in the United States is Smith. In fact, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Smith has consistently ranked at the top of prevalent last names in America for decades — including the 2010 census. And as you may already suspect, the last name “Smith” refers to the blacksmith trade. Isn’t it kind of interesting that a few Smith ancestors from the Middle Ages were likely named for their occupational roles in society, only to eventually give rise to one of the most widely-held surnames in the world? There are roughly 2.3 million Smiths in the United States alone, very few of whom are metal workers today. Last names — or surnames — were first used in China as early as 2852 BC , largely for census and population tracking. This concept eventually spread across the globe, though not all societies adopted family names at the same time.…