Schmidt is a common German occupational surname derived from the German word " Schmied" meaning "blacksmith" and/or "metalworker". This surname is the German equivalent of "

Smith Smith may refer to: People * Metalsmith, or simply smith, a craftsman fashioning tools or works of art out of various metals * Smith (given name) * Smith (surname), a family name originating in England, Scotland and Ireland ** List of people wit ...

" in the English-speaking world. Schmidt German immigrants migrated to England and developed an understanding of English culture. Schmidt was commonly used in the English world as "Smith". Travelers would grow accustomed to the English, Irish, and Scottish change of lifestyle and eventually their names also changed. German migration to England was very common.

Geographical distribution

As of 2014, 64.9% of all known bearers of the surname ''Schmidt'' were residents of Germany (frequency 1:113), 18.2% of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

(1:1,809), 3.7% of Brazil (1:5,058), 1.7% of Canada (1:1,936), 1.5% of

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous c ...

(1:503), 1.3% of

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , established ...

(1:398), 1.1% of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

(1:4,469), 1.1% of

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

(1:3,635) and 1.0% of France (1:6,167). In Germany, the frequency of the surname was higher than national average (1:113) in the following states: * 1.

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and lar ...

(1:60) * 2.

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (MV; ; nds, Mäkelborg-Vörpommern), also known by its anglicized name Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania, is a state in the north-east of Germany. Of the country's sixteen states, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern ranks 14th in po ...

(1:65) * 3.

Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt (german: Sachsen-Anhalt ; nds, Sassen-Anholt) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.18 million inhabitants, making it th ...

(1:66) * 4.

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 squar ...

(1:70) * 5.

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are Darms ...

(1:84) * 6.

Saarland The Saarland (, ; french: Sarre ) is a state of Germany in the south west of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and ...

(1:87) * 7.

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

(1:92) * 8.

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schl ...

(1:95) * 9.

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

(1:110) * 10.

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...

(1:112) In

, the frequency of the surname was higher than national average (1:398) only in one region:Schmidt surname distribution
/ref> * 1. Southern Denmark (1:215)

A–G

* Alexander Schmidt (physiologist) (1831–1894), Baltic German physiologist * Alfred Schmidt (weightlifter) (1898–1972), Estonian weightlifter and Olympic medalist * Alica Schmidt (born 1998), German runner * Andreas Schmidt (baritone), born 1960, German classical singer * Andreas Schmidt (footballer), born 1973, German footballer, twin brother of Oliver Schmidt * Annie M. G. Schmidt (1911–1995), Dutch writer * Arlo Schmidt (1931-2022), American politician and auctioneer * Arno Schmidt (1914–1979), German author and translator * Arthur Schmidt (disambiguation) * Bernhard Schmidt (1879–1935), Estonian-German astronomer, inventor of the Schmidt camera *

Bill Schmidt (baseball) Bill Schmidt is an American baseball executive. Born August 1959. He is the general manager of the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball. Schmidt served as a scout for the Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees, Cincinnati Reds, and the Major Lea ...

(born 1959), American baseball executive *

Boss Schmidt Charles "Boss" Schmidt (September 12, 1880 – November 14, 1932) was an American baseball catcher for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB) A native of Arkansas, Schmidt played professional baseball from 1901 to 1926, including six ...

(1880–1932), American major league catcher *

Brian Schmidt Brian Paul Schmidt (born 24 February 1967) is the Vice-Chancellor of the Australian National University (ANU). He was previously a Distinguished Professor, Australian Research Council Laureate Fellow and astrophysicist at the University's ...

(born 1967), U.S.-Australian astrophysicist and Nobel laureate * Brian L. Schmidt (born 1962), music composer for video games and pinball games * Bryan Schmidt (born 1981), an American ice hockey player * Bryan Schmidt (footballer) (born 1995), an Argentine footballer * Bryan Thomas Schmidt (born 1969), American writer and editor * Burghart Schmidt (historian) (born 1962), German historian * Burghart Schmidt (1942–2022), German philosopher *

Carl Schmidt (chemist) Carl Ernst Heinrich Schmidt ( – ), also known in Russia as Karl Genrikhovich Schmidt (russian: Карл Ге́нрихович Шмидт, translit=Karl Génrichovič Šmidt), was a Baltic German chemist from the Governorate of Livonia, a par ...

(1822–1894), Baltic German chemist * Carl Friedrich Schmidt (disambiguation) * Carmela Schmidt (born 1962), East German freestyle swimmer * Carolina Schmidt (born 1967), Chilean politician and businesswoman * Casper Schmidt (1842–1889), American politician * Charles J. Schmidt (1907–1966), American politician * Christian Schmidt (born 1957), German politician * Clarke Schmidt (born 1996), American baseball player * Colton Schmidt (born 1990), American football player * Dagmar Schmidt (born 1973), German politician * David Schmidt (disambiguation), several people * Diane Grob Schmidt, American chemist * Earl W. Schmidt (born 1936), American jurist and politician *

Eduard Oscar Schmidt Eduard Oscar Schmidt (21 February 1823, in Torgau – 17 January 1886, in Kappelrodeck) was a German zoologist and phycologist. Biography He initially studied mathematics and science at Halle, then continued his education in Berlin, where h ...

(1823–1886), German zoologist and phycologist *

Erhard Schmidt Erhard Schmidt (13 January 1876 – 6 December 1959) was a Baltic German mathematician whose work significantly influenced the direction of mathematics in the twentieth century. Schmidt was born in Tartu (german: link=no, Dorpat), in the Gover ...

(1876–1959), German mathematician *

Eric Schmidt Eric Emerson Schmidt (born April 27, 1955) is an American businessman and software engineer known for being the CEO of Google from 2001 to 2011, executive chairman of Google from 2011 to 2015, executive chairman of Alphabet Inc. from 2015 to 20 ...

(born 1955), executive chairman, former CEO, of Google *

Erich Schmidt (archaeologist) Erich Friedrich Schmidt (September 13, 1897 – October 3, 1964) was a German and American-naturalized archaeologist, born in Baden-Baden. He specialized in Ancient Near East Archaeology, and became professor emeritus at the Oriental Institute ...

(1897–1964), German archaeologist *

Erich Schmidt (historian) Erich Schmidt (20 June 1853, in Jena – 29 April 1913, in Berlin) was a German historian of literature. Biography He was the son of a zoologist Oskar Schmidt. He studied Germanic philology and literary history at Graz, Jena, and Strassburg, es ...

(1853–1913) German historian of literature * Ferenc Schmidt (1941–2011), Hungarian politician and MP *

Firmin Martin Schmidt Firmin Martin Schmidt (October 12, 1918 - August 4, 2005) was a Roman Catholic bishop. Born in Catharine, Kansas, United States, Schmidt was ordained a priest for the Capuchin order on June 2, 1946. On April 3, 1959, he was appointed prefect of Me ...

(1918–2005), American Roman Catholic bishop *

Francis Schmidt Francis Albert Schmidt (December 3, 1885 – September 19, 1944) was an American football player and coach of football, basketball, and baseball. He served as the head football coach at the University of Tulsa (1919–1921), the University of Arka ...

(1885–1944), American college baseball coach * Franklin J. W. Schmidt (1901–1935), American naturalist, brother of Karl Patterson *

Franz Schmidt (composer) Franz Schmidt, also Ferenc Schmidt (22 December 1874 – 11 February 1939) was an Austro-Hungarian composer, cellist and pianist.Franz Schmidt (1874–1939) and Dohnányi Ernö (1877–1960): A study in Austro-Hungarian Alternativ. Life Schm ...

(1874–1939), Austrian composer * Frithjof Schmidt (born 1953), German politician * Fritz Schmidt (disambiguation) * Gavin Schmidt, Climatologist *

Gerhard Schmidt (crystallographer) Gerhard Martin Julius Schmidt (born, 21 August 1919 in Berlin – died July 12, 1971 in Zurich, buried in Rehovot), organic chemist and chemical crystallographer, Dean of the Chemistry Faculty of the Weizmann Institute of Science, and its scientif ...

(1919–1971), organic chemist and chemical crystallographer * Gerhard Carl Schmidt (1865–1949), German chemist * Gerhard Schmidt (art historian) (1924–2010), professor of the history of art *

Gunther Schmidt Gunther Schmidt (born 1939, Rüdersdorf) is a German mathematician who works also in informatics. Life Schmidt began studying Mathematics in 1957 at Göttingen University. His academic teachers were in particular Kurt Reidemeister, Wilhelm K ...

(born 1939), German mathematician *

Gunter Schmidt Gunter Schmidt (born 22 November 1938) is a German sexologist, psychotherapist and social psychologist. He was born in Berlin. Schmidt was the director of the centre for sexual research in the clinic of the University Medical Center Hamburg-Ep ...

(born 1938), German sexologist * Günter Schmidt (arachnologist) (1926–2016)

H–L

* Hans Christian Schmidt (born 1953), Danish politician * Hans Schmidt (disambiguation) * Hans-Thilo Schmidt (1888–1943), German spy for France in the 1930s *

Harald Schmidt Harald Franz Schmidt (born 18 August 1957) is a German actor, comedian, television presenter and writer best known as the host of two popular German late-night shows. Early and private life A son of refugees who fled from Sudetenland (now Cz ...

(born 1957), German television entertainer * Harry Schmidt (Air National Guard), US Air National Guard pilot *

Harry Schmidt (USMC) Harry Schmidt (September 25, 1886 – February 10, 1968) was a United States Marine Corps general. During World War II, he served as the commanding general of the Fourth Marine Division during the battles of Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands an ...

(1886–1968), US Marine Corps general *

Harvey Schmidt Harvey Lester Schmidt (September 12, 1929 – February 28, 2018) was an American composer for musical theatre and illustrator. He was best known for composing the music for the longest running musical in history, ''The Fantasticks'', which ran off ...

(1929–2018), American composer *

Heide Schmidt Heide Schmidt (born 27 November 1948 in Kempten im Allgäu, Germany) is an Austrian politician. A lawyer and formerly a prominent member of Jörg Haider's Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ), in 1993 Schmidt was one of a group of politicians who, be ...

(born 1948), Austrian politician * Heinrich Schmidt (philosopher) (1874-1935), German archivist, naturalist, philosopher, professor and disciple of Ernst Haeckel * Heinrich Schmidt (politician) (1902–1960), NSDAP politician * Heinrich Schmidt (physician) (1912–2000), medic at Majdanek extermination camp * Heinrich Julian Schmidt (1818–1886), German journalist * Heinrich Schmidt (footballer) (1912–1988), German footballer *

Helle Thorning-Schmidt Helle Thorning-Schmidt (; born 14 December 1966) is a Danish retired politician who served as the 26th Prime Minister of Denmark from 2011 to 2015, and Leader of the Social Democrats from 2005 to 2015. She is the first woman to have held each p ...

(born 1966), Danish Prime Minister * Helmut Schmidt (footballer) (born 1949), German football player * Helmut Schmidt (parapsychologist), German parapsychologist *

Helmut Schmidt Helmut Heinrich Waldemar Schmidt (; 23 December 1918 – 10 November 2015) was a German politician and member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), who served as the chancellor of West Germany from 1974 to 1982. Before becoming Ch ...

(1918–2015), German chancellor * Herbert B. Schmidt (born 1931), German economist * Howard A. Schmidt (1949–2017), American computer security specialist *

Irmin Schmidt Irmin Schmidt (born 29 May 1937) is a German keyboardist and composer, best known as a founding member of the band Can. Biography Schmidt was born in Berlin, Germany, began his studies in music at the conservatorium in Dortmund, at the Folkwa ...

(born 1937), German rock keyboard player *

Isaac Jacob Schmidt Isaac Jacob Schmidt (October 4, 1779 – August 27, 1847) was an Orientalist specializing in Mongolian and Tibetan. Schmidt was a Moravian missionary to the Kalmyks and devoted much of his labours to Bible translation. Born in Amsterdam, he sp ...

(1779–1847), Dutch/Russian linguist and academician * Jan Schmidt (director), Czech film director * Jacques Schmidt (1933–1996), French costume designer * Jason Schmidt (born 1973), American baseball player *

Jean Schmidt Jeannette Mary Schmidt (née Hoffman; born November 29, 1951) is an American politician who is a state representative in Ohio's 65th district. She was a U.S. Representative for , serving from 2005 to 2013. She is a member of the Republican Part ...

(born 1951), American politician * Jean Dolores Schmidt (born 1919), American nun better known as Sister Jean * Jessica Schmidt (born 1979), German chess grandmaster * Joe Schmidt (American football) (born 1932), American football player * Johann Kaspar Schmidt (1806–1856), German philosopher known as Max Stirner * Johann Anton Schmidt (1823–1905), German botanist * Josef Schmidt (rugby union) (born 1965), New Zealand rugby union coach *

Johannes Schmidt (biologist) Ernst Johannes Schmidt (2 January 1877 – 21 February 1933) was a Danish biologist credited with discovering in 1920 that European eels migrate to the Sargasso Sea to spawn. Before this people in North America and Europe had wondered where the sm ...

(1877–1933), Danish biologist *

Johannes Schmidt (linguist) Johannes Friedrich Heinrich Schmidt (July 29, 1843 – July 4, 1901) was a German linguist. He developed the ''Wellentheorie'' (' wave theory') of language development. Biography Schmidt was born in Prenzlau, Province of Brandenburg. He was educ ...

(1843–1901), German linguist * Joost Schmidt (1893–1948), teacher at the Bauhaus *

Jordan Schmidt Jordan Schmidt (born February 26, 1988) is a Grammy-nominated, multi-platinum songwriter and music producer. He has co-written, engineered or produced songs for Kane Brown, Morgan Wallen, Jason Aldean, Blake Shelton, blackbear, Dan + Shay, ...

(born 1989), American music producer * Josef Friedrich Schmidt (1871–1948), German board game inventor * Joseph Hermann Schmidt (1804–1852), professor of Obstetrics in Berlin * Joseph Schmidt (1904–1942), singer, actor * Julius Schmidt (disambiguation) *

Justin O. Schmidt Justin Orvel Schmidt (born March 23, 1947) is an American entomologist, co-author of ''Insect Defenses: Adaptive Mechanisms and Strategies of Prey and Predators'', author of ''The Sting of the Wild'', and creator of the Schmidt sting pain index ...

(entomologist), creator of the index of insect sting pain * Jürgen Schmidt (born 1941), German speed skater * Karl August von Schmidt (1840–1929), German geophysicist *

Karl Patterson Schmidt Karl Patterson Schmidt (June 19, 1890 – September 26, 1957) was an American herpetologist. Family Schmidt was the son of George W. Schmidt and Margaret Patterson Schmidt. George W. Schmidt was a German professor, who, at the time of Karl ...

(1890–1957), Chief Curator of Zoology, Field Museum of Natural History * Karl Schmidt-Rottluff (1884–1976), German painter *

Katherine Schmidt Katherine Schmidt (February 6, 1899 – April 18, 1978) was an American artist and art activist. Early in her career the figure studies, landscapes, and still lifes she painted drew praise for their "purity and clarity of color," "sound draftsma ...

(1899–1978), American artist *

Kendall Schmidt Kendall Francis Schmidt (born November 2, 1990) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, music producer, and actor. He played Kendall Knight in '' Big Time Rush'', and is a current member of the boyband with the same name, and has had small ro ...

(born 1990), American actor, singer * Kurt Schmidt (1891–1945), German Lieutenant-General during the Second World War * Luís Eduardo Schmidt (born 1979), Brazilian football player

M–Z

Maarten Schmidt Maarten Schmidt (28 December 1929 – 17 September 2022) was a Dutch-born American astronomer who first measured the distances of quasars. He was the first astronomer to identify a quasar, and so was pictured on the March cover of ''Time'' mag ...

(1929–2022), Dutch-American astronomer * Martin Johann Schmidt (1718–1801), also called ''Kremser Schmidt'' ''Kremserschmidt'', Austrian painter * Max Schmidt (1818–1901), German painter * (1920–2002), commandant Fürstengrube subcamp of Auschwitz, March 1944 – January 1945 * Michael Schmidt (disambiguation) *

Mike Schmidt Michael Jack Schmidt (born September 27, 1949) is an American former professional baseball third baseman who played his entire 18-season career in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies. Schmidt was a 12-time All-Star and a ...

(born 1949), American baseball player, third baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies *

Milt Schmidt Milt is the seminal fluid of fish, mollusks, and certain other water-dwelling animals which reproduce by spraying this fluid, which contains the sperm, onto roe (fish eggs). It can also refer to the sperm sacs or testes that contain the semen ...

(1918–2017), Canadian hockey player * Monika Schmidt, Australian judge * Nate Schmidt (born 1991), American ice hockey player * Noémie Schmidt (born 1990), Swiss actress * Olaf Schmidt (born 1962), German glider aerobatic pilot * (19282010), Danish conductor and composer * Oliver Schmidt, born 1973, German footballer, twin brother of Andreas Schmidt (above) * Olle Schmidt (born 1949), Swedish politician *

Oscar Schmidt Oscar Daniel Bezerra Schmidt (born February 16, 1958) is a retired Brazilian professional basketball player. He is also commonly known as Oscar Schmidt in Spain, where he played for Fórum Valladolid for the 1993–94 and 1994–95 seasons, ...

(born 1958), Brazilian basketball player *

Otto Schmidt Otto Yulyevich Shmidt, be, Ота Юльевіч Шміт, Ota Juljevič Šmit (born Otto Friedrich Julius Schmidt; – 7 September 1956), better known as Otto Schmidt, was a Soviet scientist, mathematician, astronomer, geophysicist, statesm ...

(1891–1956), Soviet scientist * Otto Schmidt (aviator) (1885-1944), German

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...

* Paul Schmidt (disambiguation) * Peter Schmidt (disambiguation) * Petra Schmidt (born 1963), German soprano *

Pyotr Schmidt Pyotr Petrovich Schmidt (russian: Пётр Петрович Шмидт; – ) was one of the leaders of the Sevastopol Uprising during the Russian Revolution of 1905. Early years Pyotr Petrovich Schmidt was born in 1867 in Odessa, Russian E ...

(1867–1906, Russian revolutionary of 1905 * Renate Schmidt (born 1943), German Federal Minister for family affairs *

Rob Schmidt Rob Schmidt Barracano (born September 25, 1965) is an American filmmaker. His film credits include '' Wrong Turn'' and '' Crime and Punishment in Suburbia''. He also created a pilot called American Town for Twentieth Century Fox. He directed a ...

(born 1965), American film director and writer *

Sophie Schmidt Sophie Diana Schmidt (born 28 June 1988) is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer player who plays as a midfielder for National Women's Soccer League club Houston Dash and the Canada women's national soccer team, Canadian nationa ...

, Canadian soccer player * Stefan Schmidt (born 1981), German politician *

Steve Schmidt Stephen Edward Schmidt (born September 28, 1970) is an American communications and public affairs strategist who worked on Republican political campaigns, including those of President George W. Bush, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, ...

, American campaign strategist and public relations expert for the U.S. Republican Party * Thomas Schmidt (footballer) * Tim Schmidt (born 1986), Australian rules footballer * Tony Schmidt (born 1980), German racing driver * Torge Schmidt (born 1988), German politician * Torsten Schmidt (disambiguation) * Ulla Schmidt (born 1949), German Federal Minister for health *

Uwe Schmidt Uwe H. Schmidt (born 27 August 1968), also known as Atom™, Atom Heart, or Señor Coconut, is a German composer, musician and producer of electronic music. He is often regarded as the father of electrolatino, electrogospel, and aciton musi ...

(born 1966), German politician * Vasili Schmidt (1886–1938), Soviet politician and statesman * Vera Schmidt (born 1982), Hungarian singer-songwriter * Viktoria Schmidt-Linsenhoff (1944–2013), German art historian and professor * Walter Schmidt (disambiguation) * Wilhelm Schmidt (disambiguation) * William Schmidt (disambiguation) * Wilma Schmidt (1926–2022), German operatic soprano * Wolfgang M. Schmidt (born 1933), mathematician

References

{{surname German-language surnames Occupational surnames Russian Mennonite surnames

Geographical distribution

A–G

H–L

M–Z

See also

References