November 2, 2018
It is very likely that you or someone you know has heard an old story passed down through generations that goes like this: An immigrant ancestor arrived in New York with nothing but a bag, a determined attitude, and a name that an Ellis Island immigration inspector found difficult to understand let alone spell. With the stroke of a pen, the inspector changed Hervik to Harwick or Anestis to Ernest. However, these stories of Ellis Island name changes are much more folklore than historical fact.
In this article, we explore the misconceptions about immigrant name changes and how understanding them can help you in researching your family history.
Why Ellis Island Name Changes Are a Myth
The stories of immigrant name changes are based on family stories that developed after the fact. These stories were often a way to fill in the blanks of an ancestor, or to compensate for missing Ellis Island records of a particular family member. Despite the common misconception that Ellis Island inspectors changed immigrants’ names, either intentionally or accidentally, the inspectors didn’t actually write anything down. Since inspectors were not responsible for recording immigrants’ names, any errors most likely occurred in the passengers’ home countries where tickets were purchased and recorded.
The New York immigration records from Ellis Island show that very few immigrant names were changed upon entry. The names that were changed were done so at the request of the individual. Of the immigration clerks working to process new arrivals during the “Golden Age of Immigration,” a third were foreign-born, and all were required to speak at least three languages. Furthermore, clerks were assigned to immigrant groups based on the languages they knew, and if a clerk was unable to communicate with an immigrant, Ellis Island employed hundreds of translators to support the processing.
The job of the clerks and inspectors working at Ellis Island and the other ports of entry was to compare the information of a particular immigrant (and their family) to the manifest created by the shipping company with which they traveled. As such, the story that a family’s name was officially changed by an inspector on Ellis Island doesn’t hold up.
Did Immigrant Name Changes Happen?
Although names were not changed when immigrants arrived on Ellis Island, immigrant name changes did happen. The reasons for someone to change their name were varied, with common themes surrounding the fresh start they hoped to have in their new home.
Name Changes in Official Records
When immigrant name changes are present in official records, they are often gradual and can be found in documents such as leases, bank loans, diplomas and in some cases newspaper articles. These types of records, which would be made in the months and years after someone arrived in the U.S., were written by officials for whom English was usually their primary, or only, language – resulting in slight misspellings and eventual name changes.
New World, New Identity
Many saw the Americanization of their names as a positive sign of assimilation into the new culture. For someone looking for a fresh start and following their American dream, they may have wanted to leave the Old World behind and take on a new identity, an American identity. What better way than an American name?
Simple Translations
Related to the previous point, many immigrants who changed their names early in their naturalization process did so to smooth out the assimilation into their new home. Their reasoning could have been to remove some letters, pick a spelling that more resembled standards of American English, or to give a literal translation of their name into English (e.g., the German name “Schwartz” became the English name “Black”). For more examples, see: Common German Last Names & Their Meanings.
The Problem of Name Changes for Your Genealogy Research
Regardless of the reason why your ancestors may have changed their name, this can create a challenge for people researching their immigrant ancestors. The above reasons are starting points as to why an immigrant name change might have happened, but for many the “why” does not necessarily offer the “how. “
Documenting name changes during naturalization was codified into law in 1906. Before that, Ellis Island records or similar databases would have made no note of them. Missing information is at least part of the reason that many held onto the Ellis Island name changes myth.
After 1906, any name change during the naturalization process was documented. As such, searching the New York immigration records or similar documents may help you uncover the original name of an ancestor. If you’ve reached a dead end in your research due to a potential ancestor name change, try searching multiple genealogy resources including GenealogyBank’s Historical Newspaper Archives.
I find this article very logical, reasonable and probable. I often find name changes or variations and translations but previously could not understand why — I seemed to fail in finding ancestor’s information. Thank you.
Thanks for your comment, Patrick. We’re glad the article was helpful to you.
This information is very interesting. Thank you for including this in my subscription.
You’re very welcome, Julie. Thanks for commenting.
My name, Faniel, may have been transformed from “Fanieul,” as there exists a Fanieul’s Hall in Boston. I’m not sure about this, but I do think it could be explained by the fact that Faniel is rather difficult to pronounce for English-speaking people.
A question that you could perhaps answer: I have a lot of African American descendants bearing my name. Were they slaves that took the name of their “owner” after their being released?
Thanks for your explanation.
Robert,
That would be neat to have ties to the family behind Boston’s famed “Cradle of Liberty”! There may indeed be links between Faneuil and Faniel, but it would take some rather dedicated research to prove/disprove that. As per Faniel, Ancestry says it’s “French: topographic name for someone who lived on or near marshy ground, from a diminutive of fagne ‘quagmire’. This, rhyming with Daniel, is how the name Faneuil is pronounced.” (https://www.ancestry.com/name-origin?surname=faniel)
Another site confirms the commonality of African American surnames of Faniel here: https://www.names.org/n/faniel/about
Now, does this mean without a doubt that they were of slave descent who took upon themselves the names of former masters? That’s a heavily-debated topic.
“Historian Leon Litwack describes some of the factors freedpeople considered when adopting names:
“In some instances, Federal officials expedited the naming process by furnishing the names themselves, and invariably the name would be the same as that of the freedman’s most recent master. But these appear to have been exceptional cases; the ex-slaves themselves usually took the initiative—like the Virginia mother who changed the name of her son from Jeff Davis, which was how the master had known him, to Thomas Grant, which seemed to suggest the freedom she was now exercising. Whatever names the freed slaves adopted, whether that of a previous master, a national leader, an occupational skill, a place of residence, or a color, they were most often making that decision themselves. That was what mattered.” (https://www.facinghistory.org/reconstruction-era/names-and-freedom)
I’d recommend you follow historical documents to the best of your ability, and you should come to an answer that will most satisfactorily explain your possible name change.
Another piece of the name change puzzle may be this one I encountered while researching a line originating in eastern Europe: the immigrant’s name, transliterated into English, was, variously, Thomas Alexander or Alexander Thomas. Finally, a grandson, per grandson’s daughter, gave up on trying to figure out which was the family’s actual surname and chose one: his surname would be Thomas and that was that.
My great grandfather, whose name when arriving at Ellis Island was supposed Lauritz Maurasletta. His father, my great great grandfather, also came over with his son and a friend at the same time, same ship. His name was Jens Morud (a million spellings for Morud), which was a farm or something in Norway, so not sure what his surname was at birth. The names and so many of the names being exactly the same make it difficult at best to research and get reliable information
My great grandfather arrived from Alsace Lorraine with a brother and first cousin. Their last name was Enri. One came through as Enri, my great grandfather ended up as Henry (Anglicized ) and the cousin became Horey.
Thanks for the information about Ellis Island. I have begun to search my ancestors who came to America through there. Appreciate any help you can give to people like me searching for ancestors when we have time. With this help from you, it is easier.
You’re very welcome, Flora — and good luck with your research!
I thought they had to have papers to leave the country in Europe. Wouldn’t they just show the exit papers to the clerk? We have a great-grandfather who left Belarus under cover, and probably changed his name to avoid conscription into the Russian army. He married and lived in England for years under the new name before coming to America. We are searching for the Slavic-sounding name.
Charline,
It really depended upon where the immigrants came from. In fact, there are even times when no visas/passports were needed (see https://www.history.com/news/immigrants-ellis-island-short-processing-time).
Laws and bureaucracies tend to grow and become more cumbersome with the passage of time. This over complicates life and begets more and more problems. (See https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/did-my-family-really-come-legally-todays-immigration-laws-created-a-new-reality)
That said, people like your great-grandfather would have been largely welcomed in the name of freedom. I think that “Lady Liberty” would comfortably stand behind that!