The following are known variations: Bauerschmitt, Baurschmidt, Baurschmitt, Bauernschmidt, Bauernschmitt, Bauerschmiedt, Bauerschmied, Burenschmied, Burenschmiedt, Bauerschmitz, Boverschmidt, Bouverschmidt, Pauerschmid, Pauernschmid.

The following names, although often confused with Bauerschmidt, are definitely NOT related: Beurschmidt, Bierschmidt, Breidenschmidt, Baierschmidt, Bearschmidt, Behrschmidt, Bayernschmidt, Bayersmith, Berschmidt, Burchmitt, Bauersachs, Bauerfiend, Bauermeister, Bauernoble, Bauerschubert.

The following names are not usually associated with Bauerschmidt (they have their own derivations), but they should be considered because they can also be obtained by a minor typing error in the name Bauerschmidt: Baerschmidt, Burschmidt, Barschmidt, Baernschmidt, Schmidtbauer.

It is often asked, can I tell where my ancestors came from by how they spelled their name? Before answering that question, it is important to point out that the spelling used in the U.S. may not be representative of how it was spelled before they came here. Almost every family has a story about how one of their ancestors had their name changed by some U.S. agency - Ellis Island, the Army, census takers, a naturalization judge, etc. Assuming that you know exactly how your ancestors spelled their name in their homeland, does it mean anything? It might. It is true that the different regional dialects of German lead to different preferred spellings for many common surnames. Despite the mobility of modern society, these regional patterns are still quite evident.

Although, Bauerschmidt is not a common enough name for analysis, the root "Schmidt" has been studied. An analysis based on the 1995 German phone directory found three statistically significant geographic patterns for this surname.

• The Schmi(e)d spelling without any t was most common in southern Baden and Bavaria with the heaviest concentration occurring in a band from Stuttgart to Munich, and another cluster around Nurnberg.
• The Schmitt spelling with a tt is more common north of the Main river. The heaviest concentration was found in a band running from southern Rhineland over to Thuringia. The northern edge starts just south of Trier and runs through southern Rhineland to Mainz over to Frankfurt and on to Thuringia. The southern edge runs from Saarland across northern Baden and Bavaria over to Thuringia.
• The Schmitz spelling with a final z is found primarily in the Rhineland, west of the Rhein river and north of the Mosel river, particularly near Trier and Köln.
• The Schmidt spelling using the dt ending, is by far the most common and can be found through out Germany with statistically significant clusters around many German cities.

This does not mean that these are the only places where these spellings are used, or that these are the only spellings in these areas; what is does show is where certain spellings are most commonly found. Though we have not seen one, a similar analysis could be done for the variations in the spelling of "Bauer". One would expect to find the less common spellings such as "Bover" and "Bouver" to be concentrated in distinct geographical areas.

While these patterns do not necessarily apply to compounds names using the word Schmidt, it is interesting to note some similarities with the apparent distribution for the Bauerschmidt spellings that we have seen. Not surprisingly, the spelling Bauerschmitz is found primarily in the Rhineland-Pfalz and Westphalia regions where the z spelling of Schmitz is most common. Similarly, the Burenschmied and Bauernschmid spellings without any final t appear to be much more common in Bavaria, particularly the south. It is also interesting to note that the tt spelling eventually shows up in most family trees for Thuringia and Palatinate.

Based on these observations, it may be possible to use these patterns as a rough guide for identifying the region where your ancestors might have lived. If they used the spelling "Bauerschmitz" you should definitely start your search west of the Rhein river. If they used "Bauerschmid" or "Bauerschmied" you might want to look in southern Baden or Bavaria first. "Bauerschmitt" could come from many places, but there is a slightly higher probability in the region just north of the Main river. If they used the "Bauerschmidt" spelling, they could have come from almost anywhere in Germany.

It can be argued that the original spelling of the name was with an n as in Bauernschmidt. Grammatically speaking, the German words "Bauer" and its root, "Bur", are classified as weak masculine n nouns. This means that they take an ending of n or, en in the genitive case. Thus, villagesmith and farmsmith would be written as "Burenschmidt" and "Bauernschmidt" respectively. Nevertheless, many old documents in the 1500's spell the surname without using the letter n, perhaps indicating that this letter was not pronounced and could be dropped from phonetic renderings. There are also documented cases of individuals signing their name in Germany using the n spelling, but dropping the n upon reaching America - a further sign that the n may have been silent. Therefore, don't think that just because your family spells the name without an n today, that it has always been spelled that way. You should consider both spellings when looking at German records.

"Bauerschmidt" is the accepted standard English spelling, but many German immigrants seemed to have originally spelled the name with a double t ending (Bauerschmitt) or without any t at all (Bauerschmid). These spellings may be a reflection of the regional variation in the spelling of "Schmidt", where "Schmitt" is more common north of the Main river and "Schmi(e)d" is more common in southern Baden and Bavaria, as discussed above. The tt ending is also used in the Lorraine area of France.

A common German spelling appears to have been "Baurschmidt" without the e. But, the e is almost always added in American spellings. It is not clear whether this reflects a regional variation in spoken German.

At least two German references indicate that "Bover" and "Bouver" were alternative forms for the genitive case of "Bauer". Thus, in some parts of Germany, the compound occupational surnames were written with "Bover" instead of "Bauer", giving us Boverschmidt or sometimes Bouverschmidt. These variations are still in use in modern Germany and have made their way to the U.S. where they can be found in several states.

At first glance, "Boberschmidt" appears to be an alternative phonetic rendering of Boverschmidt. While it is true that the two spellings were sometimes used interchangeably (particularly in the St. Louis area), it is not clear that all Boberschmidts are Bauerschmidts. This variation, although rare, shows up in isolated instances in Germany and some U.S. states. At this time, reliable information is not available for the derivation or early uses of this spelling in Germany. So for now, we would have to say that Boberschmidt can be, but is not always, equivalent to Bauerschmidt.

Although modern German and English spellings begin with the letter B, this was not always the case. The consonants B and P are phonetically similar and are sometimes interchangeable, particularly in some older dialects of German. One can find the spellings "Pauerschmid(t)" and "Pauernschmid(t)" used in some old written German records. Therefore, when researching old documents in Germany, particularly those written in the 14th through 16th centuries, don't forget to check for the P spellings.

One of the least common spellings is "Bauerschmitz" with a z at the end. This variant derives from "Bauerschmides" which literally meant "the son of the Bauerschmid" (der Sohn des Bauerschmid). These so called "secondary patronymic" surnames were unique to the Rhineland area of Germany. Although uncommon in the U.S., it is still in use in Germany, particularly west of the Rhein river in the Rhineland-Pfalz and southern Westphalia regions.

Many of us have been horrified to see our ancestor's names spelled phonetically on passenger lists or census returns as "Bauersmith" or even worse "Bowersmith". In general, Bowersmith is an English surname which has a separate origin. But, since many immigrants couldn't write, phonetic spellings were often used. That's why the Soundex system was developed. So don't overlook the Smith variations when searching for your ancestors in American records - especially on census returns.