Smit is a Dutch occupational surname It represents an archaic spelling of the Dutch word "smid" for "smith" (metal worker) and is the Dutch equivalent of the English surname Smith.
Information for surname frequency in the Netherlands is limited by the end of comprehensive census taking in the year 1971. The most recent readily available information is based on the 1947 census, for which both raw census data and surname frequency data have been made available to the general public. In 1947 there were 29,783 recorded people with the surname Smit, while the general census provides a figure of 9,519,000 as the 1947 population. Working with this data the frequency of the Smit surname in the Netherlands in 1947 can be calculated to be ~0.313% or ~3,130 of every 1,000,000 people. By comparison, the most common Dutch surname in the 1947 data was de Jong, which had a frequency of ~0.580%.
An imperfect comparison can be made to primary English-speaking countries as of 1998 based on research by The National Trust. In 1998, the highest frequency was observed in New Zealand as 97.18 occurrences per million people, or ~1/30th the rate found in the Netherlands of 50 years before. Among the nations examined in the National Trust study, relative frequencies for 1991 were: New Zealand > Australia ≅ Canada ≫ United States > Northern Ireland > Great Britain > Republic of Ireland. The substantial difference between Canada and the United States indicated in this series is approximately 3.5 fold.
Arts
Aernout Smit (1641–1710), Dutch painter
André Smit (1916–2001), Dutch musician
Arie Smit (1916–2016), Dutch-born Indonesian painter
Bartho Smit (1924–1986), South African writer, poet, dramatist and director
Carola Smit (b. 1963), Dutch singer
Carolein Smit (b. 1960), Dutch ceramic art sculptor
Floortje Smit (b. 1983), Dutch singer
Gabriël Smit (1910–1981), Dutch poet and journalist
Ger Smit (1933–2012), Dutch voice actor
Gert Smit (1944–1998), South African singer
Guy Richards Smit (b. 1970), American performance artist
Howard Smit (1911–2009), American film make-up artist
Huub Smit (b. 1978), Dutch actor
Jan Smit (b. 1985), Dutch singer
Joseph Smit (1836–1929), Dutch zoological illustrator
Leo Smit (1900–1943), Dutch composer and pianist
Leo Smit (1921–1999), American composer
Lionel Smit (b. 1982), South African artist
Lisa Smit (b. 1993), Dutch actress
Louise Smit (b. 1940), South African children's writer
Marianne Smit (b. 1984), Dutch harpist
Peter Smit (b. 1952), Dutch children's writer and publicist
Pierre Jacques Smit (1863–1960), Dutch natural history illustrator in England
Wisse Alfred Pierre Smit (1903–1986), Dutch poet and literary historian
Politics
Jaap Smit (b. 1957), Dutch trade unionist and King's Commissioner
Joke Smit (1933–1981), Dutch feminist and politician
Michiel Smit (b. 1976), Dutch politician
Neelie Smit (b. 1941), Dutch politician
Nicolaas Smit (1832–1896), South African Boer general and politician
Paul Smit (b. 1953), Namibian politician and farmer
Robert Smit (1933–1977), South African economist and politician
Sports
Alexander Smit (b. 1985), Dutch baseball player
Anika Smit (b. 1986), South African high jumper
Angie Smit (b. 1991), New Zealand middle distance runner
Arij Smit (1907–1970), Dutch boxer
Arjan Smit (b.1978), Dutch inline-skater
Arvid Smit (b. 1980), Dutch footballer
Daryn Smit (b. 1984), South African cricketer
David Smit (b. 1976), English cricketer
Dennis Smit (b. 1981), Dutch cyclist
Dillon Smit (b. 1992), South African rugby player
Ettiene Smit (b. 1974), South African strongman
G. H. Smit (b. 1976), Guernsey cricket player
Gretha Smit (b. 1976), Dutch speedskater
Hans Smit (b. 1958), Indonesia-born Filipino football manager
Heinrich Smit (b. 1990), Namibian rugby player
Jan Smit (b. 1983), Dutch footballer
Jane Smit (b. 1972), English cricketer
Jennifer Smit (b. 1958), Dutch heptathlete
JJ Smit (b. 1995), Namibian cricketer
John Smit (b. 1978), South African rugby player and executive
Julia Smit (b. 1987), American swimmer
Kees Smit (b. 1940), Dutch footballer
Kick Smit (1911–1974), Dutch footballer
Klaas Smit (1930–2008), Dutch footballer
Maaike Smit (b. 1966), Dutch wheelchair tennis player
Marjan Smit (b. 1975), Dutch sotfball player
Marnix Smit (b. 1975), Dutch footballer
Minouche Smit (b. 1975), Dutch swimmer
Nicolaas Smit (1979–2014), South African rugby player
Peter Smit (1961–2005), Dutch martial artist
Riaan Smit (b. 1984), South African rugby player
Roelof Smit (b. 1993), South African rugby player
Sylvia Smit (b. 1986), Dutch footballer
Theo Smit (b. 1951), Dutch road bicycle racer
Willie Smit (b. 1992), South African cyclist
Yasemin Smit (b. 1984), Dutch waterpolo player
Other
Bart Smit (b. 1940), Dutch toy store owner
Flip Smit (b. 1936), South African demographer and educator
Fop Smit (1777–1866), Dutch naval architect, shipbuilder, and shipowner, founder of Smit International
Jan Smit (b. 1943), Dutch theoretical physicist
Johannes Olav Smit (1883–1972), Dutch Roman Catholic bishop
Jörgen Smit (1916–1991), Norwegian teacher and writer
Lou Smit (1935–2010), American police detective
Mabel Wisse Smit (b. 1968), Dutch widow of Prince Friso of Orange Nassau
Neil Smit (b. 1959), American businessman and CEO
Nimue Smit (b. 1992), Dutch fashion model
Tim Smit (b. 1954), Dutch-born British archeologist, music producer and gardener
Arie Jan Haagen-Smit (1900–1977), Dutch chemist
Christian Reus-Smit (b. 1961), Australian international relations scholar
Sianoa Smit-McPhee (b. 1992), Australian actress
Kodi Smit-McPhee (b. 1996), Australian actor
Rie Smit-Vierdag (1905–2005), Dutch freestyle swimmer
Jože Šmit (1922 –2004), Slovene poet, translator, editor and journalist
Vlado Šmit (b. 1980), Serbian footballer
