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Started By
Message
Went down the ancestry rabbit hole: Why would someone change spelling of last name?
Posted on 12/21/21 at 11:25 am
Posted on 12/21/21 at 11:25 am
This happened within one generation. The father (my great great great) spelled the name one way and the children all spelled it differently. Phonetically the names were the same, but a single letter was changed. I verified the change by looking at grave pictures.
What could have been the motivations of people in the 1800’s to do this? The father also appeared to move away and was buried several states over. Family falling out? Scandal?
What could have been the motivations of people in the 1800’s to do this? The father also appeared to move away and was buried several states over. Family falling out? Scandal?
This post was edited on 12/21/21 at 11:28 am
86
Posted on 12/21/21 at 11:26 am to weagle99
quote:
Why would someone change spelling of last name?
Make it easier/more obvious to pronounce
Posted on 12/21/21 at 11:26 am to weagle99
Had the same thing happen in my family tree history and wondered the same thing.
Posted on 12/21/21 at 11:27 am to SG_Geaux
to avoid discrimination for having a foreign name? 
Posted on 12/21/21 at 11:28 am to weagle99
quote:
What could have been the motivations of people in the 1800’s to do this?
Posted on 12/21/21 at 11:28 am to weagle99
My best guess is language. I know my family did when they stopped using German so much and the English speak it was spelled differently
Posted on 12/21/21 at 11:28 am to SG_Geaux
quote:
Make it easier/more obvious to pronounce
I can see that, in this instance the old way was the easier for most people to spell and maybe pronounce.
This post was edited on 12/21/21 at 11:30 am
Posted on 12/21/21 at 11:28 am to weagle99
It’s usually after they’ve been accused of pedophilia.
Posted on 12/21/21 at 11:29 am to weagle99
Riff in the family.
Posted on 12/21/21 at 11:29 am to weagle99
People weren't so precise in those days. A lot of people couldn't read or write. Somebody might misspell something on a legal document and they just went with it to avoid confusion. Could be any number of reasons. There's a family here that one branch spells their name Green and the other branch spells it Greene. Both sides are very particular about it.
Posted on 12/21/21 at 11:29 am to weagle99
My last name was changed too. My family on my dad's side immigrated from Denmark to England and changed the spelling slightly to make it sound more British it seems.
Posted on 12/21/21 at 11:29 am to tharre4
quote:
to avoid discrimination for having a foreign name?
Makes sense also. My family had been in the county for over a century at this point though.
Thanks
Posted on 12/21/21 at 11:29 am to weagle99
quote:
Why would someone change spelling of last name?
Warrants.
Posted on 12/21/21 at 11:29 am to weagle99
There are lots of reasons someone would change their name or the spelling of their name in the past.
Now, today, it's mostly about attention, but in the past there were legit reasons to do so.
Now, today, it's mostly about attention, but in the past there were legit reasons to do so.
Posted on 12/21/21 at 11:30 am to weagle99
my maternal family name was “Martrana” in Sicily. My great grandfather changed it to “martrain” when he emigrated
Posted on 12/21/21 at 11:30 am to weagle99
quote:
Why would someone change spelling of last name?
quote:
Phonetically the names were the same, but a single letter was changed.
quote:
This happened within one generation.
Was there another option for the number of generations it would take to change one letter?
Posted on 12/21/21 at 11:31 am to weagle99
Most instances are just clerical errors involving churches
Church records date farther back and give us more information on ancestors
Church records date farther back and give us more information on ancestors
Posted on 12/21/21 at 11:32 am to Stagg8
quote:
Was there another option for the number of generations it would take to change one letter?
Maybe? Not all the kids had to change it at once but to your point on my branch then no.
Posted on 12/21/21 at 11:32 am to weagle99
Not the name from my maternal side (my user name)
But my paternal side my ancestor changed his name when he immigrated to New York City.
From Eastern Europe. Our last name had a very ethnic ending that many people mistook for Jewish. He lived in a very anti-jew part of the city. So to make life easier he chopped off the “-sciecwz” ending.
But my paternal side my ancestor changed his name when he immigrated to New York City.
From Eastern Europe. Our last name had a very ethnic ending that many people mistook for Jewish. He lived in a very anti-jew part of the city. So to make life easier he chopped off the “-sciecwz” ending.
Posted on 12/21/21 at 11:32 am to Stagg8
quote:
Was there another option for the number of generations it would take to change one letter?
I think he means that everyone within the family started using the same spelling. There weren't any holdouts for the old spelling.
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