Agreed but these variations can be quite marked!  My great grandmother's maiden name was recorded on her children's birth records (according to the GRO) as Bolstein, Berman, Beirman, Zuisman, Pertasnic, Puttanic and Partasic!

David Leboff
Wembley, England

Researching Leboff (Visnevo, Belarus), Zarzecki (Suwalki district, Poland), Wielodruz (Plock district, Poland), Audyt (Plock district, Poland)