(Sigh.) My last name (Schlueter) gets misspelled all the time.
Schluter.
Shluter.
Shlooter.
Or, my personal, favorite: Shmooter.
I can understand. It’s not the easiest name to spell. But, in a city with such rich German heritage, you’d think Cincinnatians might have a better shot at it?
What is a Schlueter?
As you might have guessed, Schlueter is German. It turns out that it dates all the way back to 1311, and it’s Middle Low German for “doorkeeper.” Like many German surnames, Schlueter (“doorkeeper”) symbolized the occupation of that person – in this case, the doorkeeper was the keeper of the supplies of a large household.
The first Schlueter landed in America in 1781, and other Schlueters continued to settle in Missouri, New York, and Texas. While we had humble beginnings as household servants over in Germany, many Schlueters gained notoriety in the U.S. Two Schlueters played professional baseball, and one played professional basketball. Others gained status in local and national politics.
Locally, my father (also Dr. David Schlueter) was a medical doctor in Blue Ash for more than 30 years. In fact, Advanced Dentistry of Blue Ash is in the exact same office space once used by my dad!
As long as my patients can find me in downtown Blue Ash, I’m ok with people misspelling my name. So, now matter how you like to spell it –Schluter, Schlutter, Shmooter—I appreciate that you’re trying. In Cincinnati, lots of us have hard-to-spell German surnames, so we’re all in this together, right?!?
Thanks for reading, and I can’t wait to see you at your next appointment.
Dr. Schlueter