Schmidt
A very common German surname meaning “smith,” originally for a metalworker.
The #185 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 2,100 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Schmidt is the German word for a smith, the worker in metal. It goes back to Middle High German and Old High German forms such as smid/smid and related spellings meaning “smith.” The surname is therefore occupational, applied to someone who made or worked with metal, just like English Smith.
History
The name is one of the most common surnames in German-speaking areas and has many spellings, including Schmitt and Schmied-related forms. Historical surname books also note that it could be adapted into other languages or anglicized, for example toward Smith. In the Irish and English records cited here, it appears as a recognizable German surname and as a source for related immigrant or Latinized forms.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
19th-century surname writers regularly glossed Schmidt simply as the German equivalent of English Smith.
From the historical record
“under Schloss ; Ger. agent, suff. -er\ SCHMIDT \ (Ger.) Smith [Ger. schmied (Low SCHMITT/Ger. ««iY;, MJH.Ger. smid, smit, O.H.Ger. smid, smith] SCHNEIDER (Ger.) Tailor, Cutter [f. Ger. schneiden, M.H.Ger. sniden, O.H.Ger. snidan, to cut] SCHRODER SCHROEDER SCHROETER”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)