Note from the Project Administrator:  Click on the hotlinks at the left to see the latest DNA results as well as additional background information about the project, the STEIERT surname and the banner image and Coat-of-Arms

The STEIERT surname (including its' known variant forms) is unique.  The numbers of those who bear this surname, both living and dead, is very limited. The STEIERT surname most likely arises in a small area of the middle and southern Black Forest of Germany. Currently there are believed to be about 2,280+ STEIERTs (all variants) living around the world.  About half still reside in Germany, the ancestral homeland.

When the German spelling reforms of 1901 wereimplemented, the STEIERT form became the standard in Germany.  With a few limited exceptions, almost all other forms of the surname were eliminated.  In the 2014 German phone book there are over 500 listings with the STEIERT surname. In contrast there are only 10 STEUERT listings and 13 STEYERT listings. Regardless of variant, most still reside within 100 km of St. Märgen and Hinterzarten.  The GeoGen web site (see hotlinks section on the home page) provides a map of Germany showing the distribution of the STEIERT surname based on the distribution of telephone listings.

The STEIERT form is also the most common form in the United States.  They are also almost certainly descendants of STEIERTs from the same area of Germany. However, not all STEIERTs emigrated directly to the United States. Some first emigrated to several areas in Eastern Europe, Russia and elsewhere before they or their descendants emigrated to the high plains of the Dakotas, Canada and elsewhere in the Western hemisphere. 

Currently the STAIERT form of the surname only occurs in the United States. While the genealogical records show other STAIERTs have emigrated to the United States in the past, the vast majority, if not all of the living STAIERTs in the United States today are known to have descended from August STAIERT. He emigrated in 1856 from Sankt Märgen, in what is now Breisgau-Hoch-Schwarzwald, Baden-Württemberg.  By his own account, he spent a brief time in the state of New York as well as 20 years in the state of Illinois before eventually settling in Iowa in 1877. He is the ancestor of about 500 male/female descendants, living and dead. Presumably the lines from the other Staiert immigrants have died out. 

Please go the hotlinks section on the homepage to see an essay on the origins and distributions of the surname that provides further detail on these two forms as well as similar information on the other forms of the STEIERT surname. 

Based on what is known to date, it is believed that the village of Hinterzarten is the epicenter for the origination of the STEIERT surname. While the modern translation of the name STEIERT is "from Steiermark", it almost certainly does not apply to the archaic form of the surname recorded in early village records as STEINHARDT. Recent further analysis has led to the conclusion (at least for STEIERTs originating in Hinterzarten, Germany) that STEIERT is a transformation of an archaic form of the surname with the spelling of STEINHARDT. This transformation occurred in the early records of the village. There are numerous instances of Hinterzarten men who are clearly sons and grandsons of STEINHARDTs whose name is now spelled and recorded as STEIERT. This happened in all the Hinterzarten STEINHARDT families. The transformation to STEIERT was complete by the late 1600s.   STEINHART and STEIGERT were other archaic forms that were part of this transformation as well.  In any case, it is believed that the spoken form of the name would likely have sounded the same to both the holder of the archaic form as well as the holder of the new form.  So it is still the same name.  As of now, it is not known if this transformation occurred anywhere else. Nor is enough known about the STEINHARDT surname to have a sense of whether all STEINHARDTs are related (unlikely) or whether it is surname that came into existence independently at multiple locations (likely) as suggested by the wide spread distribution of the surname. In any case, there may be some living STEINHARDTs who descend from the same STEINHARDT who was also the ancestor of the Hinterzarten STEINHARDTs, and therefore are genetically related to living STEIERTs.  As a result, STEINHARDT and STEINHART have been added to the list of surnames to allow for the contingency that at least some are related.   The transformation from STEINHARDT to STEIERT is likely the result of two factors: 

1.    Sometime in the late 1500s, feudal clerks and parish priests, began to record names in the village land records and parish records as they heard them, apparently in accordance with the training or the “rules” of spelling and pronunciation that came into vogue then.

2.    Concurrent with that, the practice of the Alemanisch speakers (then and now) to not vocalize certain letters leaving them silent.  Alemanisch is the German dialect of this region of the Black Forest that takes its’ name from the Alemani, the Germanic tribe that settled in this region.

As a result, the spelling transformation occurred simply because the feudal record keepers, parish priests and other scribes of the time were aligning the spelling of the surname with the way the speakers were pronouncing their own surname.  Alemanisch speakers tend to leave certain consonants unvoiced.  Thus, the “n”, the“h” and the “d” in STEINHARDT were silent such that it would have sounded like STEIERT.

Note - The following guidelines apply to those who wish to participate in the DNA component of the STEIERT Surname Research Project. 

Membership: 

This project seeks to recruit as many participants as we can from the descendants of all STEIERTs, whether they remained in the homeland or immigrated to the United States or elsewhere in the world.

International Members: While much of our focus is on those STEIERTS living in Germany and in the United States simply because of their numbers,  members of STEIERT variant lines in England, Canada, Germany, Russia and all other countries are also warmly invited to join the STEIERT Surname Research Project to connect and sort through their various STEIERT family lines as well.

Who Can Join: While you must be a STEIERT (or STEINHARDT) variant surname male to achieve useful Y-chromosome DNA test results, female and non STEIERT researchers are also invited to participate through encouraging test kit submissions in their behalf by fathers, brothers, male cousins, or other directly related STEIERT-variant-surname males.

For the DNA Component of the project, you or your male representative must participate in DNA testing to fully and effectively join this research project.

To join, click on the Join button on the homepage banner.  When filling out the STEIERT Project Join Request form, please identify your family line, noting your earliest confirmed STEIERT-variant-surname male ancestor, location, dates, and similar data. Briefly state your research goals. Your information will be sent to the project's Administrator, who will get in touch with you regarding your request. if the Project Administrator and you agree that you should be part of the project, the project administrator will notify you of your membership in the surname project.

Important Note: By applying to join the STEIERT Surname Research Project DNA Component, you are consenting to having your DNA test results matched with other DNA submissions for genealogical research purposes only. Each applicant is encouraged to read the Family Tree DNA FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) and related official Family Tree DNA reference materials, and only then develop your own personal research goals and expectations accordingly (see FAQ on tool bar at top of this page).

Individual family research accomplishments will vary.

Surnames in Project:

Currently, the known forms of the STEIERT surname that automatically qualify for membership in the project (subject to the conditions above) are: STEIERT, STAIERT, STAYERT, STEUERT, STEYERT and STIERT.