Some census takers were plain lazy, some couldn’t spell, and some didn’t care.
After you have exhausted all the variations on your ancestor’s first and middle names, consider that they might have been enumerated with just their initials. Or perhaps their first initial and their middle name spelled out. I have seen entire townships where no one apparently had a first name and everyone was named with their initials. I have seen locations where census takers used initials for non-English names instead of trying to spell them correctly.
Maybe your ancestor was enumerated as J. Smith in the 1860 census. Now there’s a real problem.
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My RAScal of a great grandfather usually went by only his initials and last name (common, but not as common as Smith). In the 1880 McMinnville, OR census, all members of his family were enumerated with only their initials. His youngest daughter at the time is listed as “E.W. _____.” E.W.’s mother was named Ellen, and Ellen’s mother was Winifred. All her life, this 1879 baby was called “Winnie” or “Aunt Winnie.” However, when I finally found a record of her 1915 marriage, she was listed as “Helen ____.” My theory is that the priest (or whoever filled out the certificate) mis-heard “Ellen” and wrote it as “Helen.” If this was the case, then I believe she was actually named Ellen Winifred.
At any rate, I’m thankful to have inherited “Ellen” as my middle name, rather than Winifred.