The number of times I mis-spelt Stonebraker in my Ph.D thesis... An absolute pioneer. I'm glad he's still around and active - sadly unlike many of his late contemporaries.
But, given how many last names (not only in English, but many other languages too) derive from trade or profession monikers, I can't help suspect that at some time earlier in his family's history it was spelled differently. (Except of course if it was first written down in this form. But then I'd guess that was because spelling wasn't all that stabilised a few centuries ago, so what was meant was still what we'd write as "StonebrEaker".)
"Anyway, it's just a thought." (i.e. idle etymological speculation.)
