Schmidt

Schmidt
Perhaps the most ancient of all descriptive surnames, and in its various forms the most popular in the Western world, this is a name of great honour, and probably not what it seems. Recorded in the spellings of Schmidt, Schmit, Shmit, Schmitt (German), de Smid and Smid (Flemish), Smidt, Smed, Smut and Smed (Scandanavian) Szmidt and Szmyt (Polish) Smid (Czech) Schmidt, Szmidt, Shmidman etc (Askenazic), Smith, Smyth (British) and in approximately one thousand four hundred other variations from Grensmidt to Brooksmith to Schmiedal to Smuts, all are forms of the ancient 'smitan', meaning 'to smite'. The conventional wisdom is to say that this means that a schmid(t) is or was originally 'a worker in iron'. This is open to question. The word 'smitan' is so ancient that it predates all known written history. It appears in all European languages. We believe that the original meaning of 'Schmid/Smith' is a soldier or warrior, but perhaps one who wore armour, which he would have had to repair. This would lead to an association of ideas. What is certain is that in the Medieval period every branch of 'schmitting' had its own distinctive terminology. An ancient coat of arms from Rothenburg in Bavaria, has the blazon of a red field charged with two battle hammers in saltire, and a tree branch palewise. Amongst the earliest German recordings of the surname are probably those of Henricus Schmitt of Rostock in 1287 and Nicolas Smedeke of Greifswald in 1388. Niclas Schmidt (also recorded as Schmid), is registered at Athens, Green County, New York, on April 26th 1739. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Johannes Schmitt, which was dated 1268, recorded in Hamburg, North Germany, during the reign of Emperor Alphonso 1 of the German Empire (1257 - 1273). Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

Surnames reference. 2013.

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  • Schmidt — mit den Varianten Schmitt, Schmitz, Schmid, Schmidl, Schmidli, Schmidtke, Schmied und Smid/Smidt ist ein häufiger deutscher Familienname. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Herkunft 2 Häufigkeit …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Schmidt — is a German surname that is a cognate of Smith , an occupational surname for a blacksmith. Other variations of the name include Schmitt, Schmitz, Schmid, Schmidtke, Schmidtchen, Schmied, Schmit, Schmits, Schmith, and Smits.Schmidt may also refer… …   Wikipedia

  • Schmidt — puede referirse a: Contenido 1 Toponimia 2 Personas 2.1 Artistas 2.2 Escritores 2.3 Deportistas …   Wikipedia Español

  • SCHMIDT (H.) — SCHMIDT HELMUT (1918 ) Né à Hambourg, d’un père professeur puis directeur d’école, Helmut Schmidt fait ses études secondaires à la célèbre Lichtwarkschule de la ville hanséatique et passe son baccalauréat en 1937. Il ne reprendra ses études que… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Schmidt — Schmidt, Helmut Schmidt, Johannes Schmidt, Kaspar * * * (as used in expressions) Käthe Schmidt Schmidt, Helmut Schmidt Rottluff, Karl Karl Schmidt …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Schmidt — фамилия Шмидт на иностранных языках Schmidt   общепринятое сокращение (обозначение) имени ботаника, которое добавляется к научным (латинским) названиям некоторых таксонов ботанической (бинарной) номенклатуры и указывает на то, что… …   Википедия

  • Schmidt — (Бриансон,Франция) Категория отеля: 2 звездочный отель Адрес: 5100 Бриансон, Франция …   Каталог отелей

  • Schmidt [1] — Schmidt, bei lat. Pflanzennamen für Johann Anton Schmidt, geb. 6. Mai 1823 in Hamburg, 1854–63 Professor in Heidelberg, gest. 21. Jan. 1905 in Elberfeld, schrieb: »Beiträge zur Flora der Kapverdischen Inseln« (Heidelb. 1852), »Flora von… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Schmidt — (Arno) (1914 1979) écrivain allemand: Léviathan (1949), Berechnungen I (1955), II (1956) et III (1980). Schmidt (Helmut) (né en 1918) homme politique allemand; chancelier social démocrate de R.F.A. (1974 1982) …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Schmidt — type of astronomical telescope lens used for photography, 1939, from Estonian born German optician Bernhard Voldemar Schmidt (1879 1935), who invented it …   Etymology dictionary

  • Schmidt [1] — Schmidt, Dorf im Kreise Montjoie des Regierungsbezirks Aachen der preußischen Rheinprovinz, mit Eisenbergwerk, Eisenhüttenwerk u. 450 Ew …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

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