Origins of the Small Surname

An interesting illustration of the way in which many names received an English form is seen in the "Pennsylvania Archives," second series, Vol. XVII, which contains a list of the German and Swiss settlers in Pennsylvania during the eighteenth century, the names of the vessels in which they came, and the dates of their naturalization. Often there are two lists given, one called the "original list," which apparently was made by an English-speaking person, who took down the names as they were given to him orally, and who spelled them phonetically. These duplicate lists throw a deal of light on the pronunciation of the name by the immigrants themselves. We find the same person's name spelled Kuntz and Coones, Kuhle, Coonce, Koontz, Koonce and Keeley, Huber and Hoover, Gaul and Kool, Vogelin and Fagley, Grauce and Krautz, Froehlich and Frailick. Often there are some marvelous examples of phonetic spelling. Thus Albrecht Graff is written Albrake Grove, George Heinrich Mertz is called Jurig Henrich March, and George Born is metamorphosed into Yherrick Burry. Thus even before the immigrant landed the impulse toward a change of name was given.

Again when the Germans came to be naturalized many of them could not write their names, and the clerk of the court had to take them down according to his own phonetic methods. Of course the spelling in such cases differed with the accuracy of hearing of the writer.

Sometimes the change was gradual, and we may trace many intermediate steps between the original name and its present form. Thus for Krehbiel we have Krebill, Grebill, Grabill, and finally Graybill. So Krumbein gives us Krumbine, Grumbein, and Grumbine. Often members of the same family spelled their names differently. In Lancaster there once lived two brothers, one named Carpenter and the other Zimmermann.

In some cases the changes were slight, owing to the similarity between the English and the German, as in Baker (Becker), Miller (Mueller), Brown (Braun), Weaver (Weber), Beaver (Bieber), Pepper (Pfeffer); of course Schmidt became almost at once Smith. In other cases the differences are so great that it is difficult to discover the original German form, and it is only by searching public documents and church records that the truth is found. Who, for instance, could see any connection between Seldomridge and Seltenreich, or between Rhoades and Roth? Yet nothing is surer than that in many cases these names are one and the same. It is undoubtedly true that most Pennsylvania Germans of modern times have no conception of the changes that have taken place.

In the present discussion we must bear in mind that we are speaking of the names of those Germans who came to America before the Revolution, and who were subject to an entirely different set of influences from the Germans of recent timers, who changes his name consciously and bodily into English. The names of the early Pennsylvania Germans were changed unconsciously and according to forces with which they had little to do. The difference between the two is like that between mots savants and the mots populaires of French philology.

The number of different ways of spelling even the simplest names is often suprisingly large; Thus, for the original Graaf we find today Graf, Graff, Groff, Groft, Graft, and Grove. So Baer gives us Bear, Bare, Bair. Of course, the vagaries of English orthography are largely responsible for this.

There were three ways in which the change of names took place; First, by translation; second, by spelling German sounds according to English methods; and three, by analogy. The former is the most natural in cases where English equivalents exist for the German; Hence for Zimmermann we have Carpenter; for Steinbrenner, Stoneburner; for Schumacher, Shoemaker; for Seidensticker, Silkknitter; for Lebengut, Liningood; for Fuchs, Fox; for Hoch, High; for Klein, both Little and Small, and so forth. Often only half the name is translated, while the other half is changed phonetically, as in Slaymaker (for Schleiermacher), Wanamaker (for Wannemacher), Lineaweaver (for Leineweber).

Studies have been made to determine what portion of the population has roots in German ancestry as opposed to English, Scotch and Irish. One study found that the Province of Ulster as a whole contributed about 6 per cent to the population of the United States. An analysis indicated that not far from 10 per cent of the white population of the United States in 1790 was of Irish origin, three-fifths of it from Ulster and two-fifths from what is now the Irish Free State.

Proportion of German Descent

No report has been found of the distribution of German names in Germany like those British studies which gave a foundation for estimating the proportions of English, Scotch, and Irish. Another obstacle lies in the fact that German names in the United States have been much more Anglicized or otherwise transformed than Scotch or Irish names. As an illustration of three Pennsylvania sons of a German named Klein who passed the name on to their descendants in three forms: Cline, Small and Little.

Several Scholars using other evidence have estimated the amount of German stock in the United States at more than 5 percent and not more than 12 percent of the population. These may be accepted at the start as the limits. The massing of the German population before 1790 in Pennsylvania also makes the problem easier. /end

What has yet to be determined by the genealogical researcher when searching for ancestral roots in Pennsylvania or elsewhere, is whether their ancestry comes from Germany in the form of the Schmahl family from Essenheim, or from Irish stock that came down from Philadelphia into the lower counties, and then south into the Shanendoah Valley of Virginia, and were part of the Murray Clan of Ireland.

Carefull consideration must be made to the various spellings of the Surname Small, the simple variations of Smale, Smalle, Smalley, Smales of Scotch, English and Irish origin ; but also if the German heritage is determined, to the various names given as Schamhl, Klein, Cline, Little and Small.

As to the origins of the Small surname, the English version, "One of small stature," hardly seems fitting considering the varied locations from which the family traces their roots; and "of small stature" is not fitting at all considering the height and bulk of many of todays members of the family.

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