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I'm positive these names are not surnames, as they are followed by the surname. For instance, Josephus Fix, son of Josephi Fix and Jacobus Lintz, son of Jacobi Lintz. The idea of the cleric writing his perception of the name sounds reasonable. I imagine the exact detail of the spelling of the first names was not really important during that time. Decendants where known as Joanne, son of Jacob etc. (Holy Roman Empire 1600-1750) From the looks of the records themselves, speed of writing seemed more important than spelling. Also, through the era, the records changed from Latin to French to German thus changing the names from Jois Petri to Jean Pierre to Joanne Peter. That could be a possibility too. Perhaps the first names Joseph and Jacob did the same. Thank you all for your help. Wonderful brain storming.