PA German Names

    Since I work at a historical center I encounter many, many PA German surnames. It is quite fascinating to say the least.
    Only a German tongue would know that Page, Barge and Bertsch are one and the same surname. And since a German Zimmerman was a builder, the surname Carpenter has the same family roots as the Zimmerman.
    Then there are the spellings: Brubaker, Brubacker and Brubacher may have the same origin but they will let you know if they are the "h" or "ck" or "plain bak"variety. South of the border the Horst surname is pronounced the same as the Hurst in Pa. Then there are the Koons, Koens, Kuntz, Koontz and Kuhns with different spellings but same pronounciations. And don't assume you know how to spell the name Shaffer. It could also be Shaeffer, Shafer, or Sheaffer. Each one might tell you their spelling is the "correct one". Then there are names like Landis or Landes, Sherk or Shirk, Burkholder or Borkholder, Lawver or Lauver, Shelly or Shelley, and Cauffman or Kauffman. There are Kraybill, Graybill, Krahenbuhl, Greybill, Graybuhl families who all claim the same European ancestor. We try to sort out the Acker, Auker and Auckers in their family tree.
    We have the Peachy Beachys and Beachy Peacheys. We have the Stoltzfus and Stoltzfoos clans, the Joders and Yoders, the Webers and Weavers, the Widmers and Witmers, the Snider and Snyder families. There are Stouffer, Stauffer, and Stoufer surname family files.
    Be sure you have the correct spelling for the Myers, Meyers, Myer, and Meier friend when you search for their name in the phone book. The same advice applies for the Byler, Beiler and Beyler or for Fox and Fuchs or Musser and Mosser clans.
    When you are talking about PA German surnames it is not as simple as Miller or Jones!
    Yet, somehow our great God knows each one of us as a unique individual and he does not get mixed up with all our variations and pronunciations. And the genealogist does not have a boring life!