Nesmith

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A family name of English origin, best known as the surname of musician Michael Nesmith of The Monkees
2. A surname carried by various people, most famously the American singer and songwriter Michael Nesmith
3. The family name of Michael Nesmith, the guitarist and songwriter who rose to fame with the band The Monkees

Etymology: Nesmith is a surname, and its etymology is a plain occupational one. It comes from the Middle English words "knyf" (knife) or "nayl" (nail), combined with "smith." In the medieval world a surname like this named the man who made the goods, so the first bearers were workers who forged knives or nails by hand. The name is a clue to a time when a smith's trade was specialized enough to be a family identity. Surnames formed this way across England and Scotland, and "smith" itself appears in countless compound surnames that name a particular product, from "goldsmith" to "blacksmith." Its modern fame is entirely separate from that history. The name belongs to the musician Michael Nesmith, the singer of the American pop group The Monkees, which is why the word is most often encountered as a proper name today.