Many bearers of this name were raised to the nobility in the 18th and 19th centuries for outstanding
civil service, including Johann Christian Schmidt in 1752, and Gerhard von Schmidt, a prominent
Prussian privy councillor, in 1787. Prominent bearers of the family name Schmidt during this time
period were Bernhard Schmidt (1630-1708), known as "Father Smith", who was a famous organ builder; Georg Philipp Schmidt (1766-1849), known as "Schmidt from Luebeck", who was a physician and Romantic poet; Friederich Wilhelm Schmidt (1764-1838), who was a Prussian pastor and poet;
Christoph von Schmid (1768-1854), Roman Catholic priest and writer of Christmas carols, who was ennobled in 1837; Hermann Theodor Schmid (1815-1880), Bavarian civil servant and prolific author
who was ennobled in 1876; Karl von Schmidt (1817-1875), Prussian calvary general, who fought in the Franco-German war and later made the Prussian calvary the most efficient calvary then in existence;
and Erich Schmidt (1853-1918) was a literary historian and editor of Goethe's works.

Prussia gained strength as the rulers promoted settlement of its agricultural and industrial regions by skilled workers and craftsmen. Prussia became a haven for political and religious refugees, including Salzburg Protestants and the French Huguenots. The greatest King was Frederick II, whose reform of
the civil service, the cultivation of the land, and encouragement of industrial development made
Prussia the unifying force behind the German empire. The Prussian army became the most feared and respected military force in Europe. Frederick's successors were defeated by Napoleon, and Prussia
was divided in half. However, the Congress of Vienna in 1815 gave the rich territories of the
Rhineland and of Westphalia to Prussia. Prussian strength was due to Bismarck, who defeated
Austria and Denmark. By 1871, Germany was united under Prussian power in the Franco-Prussian
War. In 1919, Prussia became a state of the new Weimar Republic, only to be incorporated into the
German Democratic Republic in 1952, after giving its lands east of the Oder river to Poland.

The flow of migration to the New World began around 1650, and continued well into the 20th century. Pockets of German settlements include Pennsylvania, Texas, New York, Illinois, California, and Ohio. In Canada, German settlements centered around Ontario and the Prairies. Settlers bearing the family name Schmidt include Anna Maria Schmidt, who came to New York State in 1710, and Johannes Schmidt
 came to Germantown,Pennsylvania between 1683 and 1709. Arnd Schmidt emigrated with his family
and with many other Schmidts to England or America in 1709; of the over one hundred Schmidts who landed in Philadelphia between 1720 and 1760 we found: Georg Michael Schmidt in 1732, Georg
Schmidt in 1728, Andreas Schmidt in 1737, and Elias Schmidt in 1752. Heinrich Friedrich Schmidt came with his wife Lisette Teufel and their three children to Texas in 1845. Johann Heinrich Schmidt came to Georgia in 1738. Heinrich Schmidt arrived in Canada in 1783, and Peter Schmitz came to Texas in 1846.

The prominent figures with the surname Schmidt in our modern period include FranzSchmidt
(1874-1939), who was a Viennese composer, pianist and cellist; Arno Schmidt (1910-1979), who was a controversial experimental writer; Helmut Schmidt (b.1918) was chancellor of West Germany from
1974-82; Adolph Schmidt (b.1904) was U.S. ambassador to Canada 1969-74.

The oldest Coat of Arms of the family name Schmidt is:

A blue shield displaying a lion bearing a black hammer.

The Crest of the family name is:

A black hammer.

The family motto is: "Virtus nobilitat" (Virtue ennobles)