Origin of the Name Schmidt
The
Schmidt family history was found in the allfamilycrests.com archives.
Over the centuries Surnames developed a wide number of variants. Different spellings of the same name can be traced back to an original root. Additionally when a bearer of a name emigrated it was not uncommon that their original name would be incorrectly transcribed in the record books at their new location. Surnames were also often altered over the years based on how they sounded phonetically and depending on the prevailing political conditions it may have been advantageous to change a name from one language to another.
Variants of the name Schmidt
include Schmid, Smet, Smith, Smidth, Szmid, Szmyt, Schmiedle, Schmedek and Schmider. This name is usually of German origin and is taken from a person who made their living as a smith, a worker in metals. This is a hereditary surname of occupational origin. Occupational names were derived from people who had a specialised occupation or trade. Naming was borne thousands of years ago and at first there were just first names. Around the eleventh century the Normans introduced the first hereditary surnames taken from their estates in France. By the fifteenth century they had spread to England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal and from there to the new world of America, Canada, Australia and beyond.
The Schmidt coat of arms came into existence centuries ago. The process of creating coats of arms (also often called family crests) began in the eleventh century although a form of Proto-Heraldry may have existed in some countries prior to this. The new art of Heraldry made it possible for families and even individual family members to have their very own coat of arms, including all Schmidt descendants.