I was browsing the Micklethwaite list on Rootsweb today and came across a post I made there a couple of years ago – it still makes interesting reading.
According to the GOONS, a variant is a name spelling that is used by a family – so Micklethwaite, Micklethwait, Mickelthwate, Micklewhite are variants – deviants are spelling mistakes, transcription errors or similar, like Makeltherde and the others on the above post.
Someone on a recent mailing list post said he didn’t believe anyone could mistranscribe Smith – based on the evidence above I have to disagree!
Andy Micklethwaite's Family History Blog 