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re: Went down the ancestry rabbit hole: Why would someone change spelling of last name?
Posted on 12/21/21 at 12:01 pm to weagle99
Posted on 12/21/21 at 12:01 pm to weagle99
I’ve got a Norse/Scandinavian background and there are a dozen variations of my families last name.
From what I’ve researched, there were so many of us they started spelling it differently to distinguish different families from one another. And when people immigrated, some vowels were changed depending on where those people immigrated. So even in the states there are a few different ways to spell my last name.
From what I’ve researched, there were so many of us they started spelling it differently to distinguish different families from one another. And when people immigrated, some vowels were changed depending on where those people immigrated. So even in the states there are a few different ways to spell my last name.
0
Posted on 12/21/21 at 12:01 pm to weagle99
many times, I think it is due to census takers writing it down incorrectly.
Posted on 12/21/21 at 12:02 pm to OysterPoBoy
quote:
It’s usually after they’ve been accused of pedophilia.
Posted on 12/21/21 at 12:03 pm to weagle99
When immigrants arrived in America, their names were often recorded by immigration officials on how they sounded more than how they were spelled in their native tongue and the immigrants stuck with the change. Sometimes they chose to Americanize their names to sound more American and to "fit in" better. My ggg grandfather was named Johann but he changed it to John after he arrived in the United States from Bavaria.
This post was edited on 12/21/21 at 12:04 pm
Posted on 12/21/21 at 12:10 pm to weagle99
Because they were illiterate and couldn’t spell?
Posted on 12/21/21 at 12:11 pm to weagle99
My paternal grandmother's original name was Fuchs... would you keep that one too?
ETA: Fuchs was changed to "Fox" upon immigration (very common apparently)
ETA: Fuchs was changed to "Fox" upon immigration (very common apparently)
This post was edited on 12/21/21 at 12:17 pm
Posted on 12/21/21 at 12:11 pm to weagle99
Found out that the other spelling of my last name was from the results of my g-g-g-g-g,etc grandfather and his brother had a falling out and the brother didn’t want anything to do with the rest of the family anymore. So he changed the spelling of his last name and went off.
And found out that the spelling of my mothers maiden name was due to a clerical error when my g-g-g,etc and family was processed through Ellis Island. The clerk misspelled the last name by leaving a letter off. Didn’t have time to argue it, so they basically were “meh” and went on their way.
And found out that the spelling of my mothers maiden name was due to a clerical error when my g-g-g,etc and family was processed through Ellis Island. The clerk misspelled the last name by leaving a letter off. Didn’t have time to argue it, so they basically were “meh” and went on their way.
Posted on 12/21/21 at 12:12 pm to weagle99
Hard to say without seeing the name
Does the letter make the pronunciation less obvious?
Does it make the name look more Anglican? Lots of Cohens became Coens and Coans.
Did some schmo at Ellis Isle just drop a letter?
Does the letter make the pronunciation less obvious?
Does it make the name look more Anglican? Lots of Cohens became Coens and Coans.
Did some schmo at Ellis Isle just drop a letter?
Posted on 12/21/21 at 12:12 pm to Bestbank Tiger
It does seem a funny story but sounds untrue. It got me curious, since it is true nearly all the "x" names are Acadian. -eaux is a plural of French nouns ending in -eau. It doesn't seem there is any clear answer why the plural form was adopted here, but it is known in standard French for, say "two houses" - deux chateaux".
Posted on 12/21/21 at 12:16 pm to Delacroix22
quote:
Our last name had a very ethnic ending that many people mistook for Jewish
Same for my mother's side. It was changed centuries ago (by the time first US census took place). In our case, Fein to Fine. Certainly was not Jewish though, although Fine is now taken as a Jewish surname because all the Jews did the same basically
The funny thing is that we have known living relatives who went even further and call themselves 'Fines'. We stopped at Fine
Posted on 12/21/21 at 12:20 pm to weagle99
I knew a brother and sister with slightly different last names. All because of how the hospital clerk typed it on her Birth Certificate and it was never corrected.
Posted on 12/21/21 at 12:24 pm to facher08
quote:
Riff in the family.
Posted on 12/21/21 at 12:37 pm to weagle99
Irish names are crazy too - the Gaelic names were anglicized - then the illiterate Irish dispersed and names are spelled all kinds of different ways at port of entries, church paperwork, etc.
Posted on 12/21/21 at 12:46 pm to weagle99
Most people did not know how to spell. Not until the mid 1900s did massive portions of the population become literate.
They would spell their name the way they thought it should be spelled.
They would spell their name the way they thought it should be spelled.
Posted on 12/21/21 at 12:47 pm to cgrand
quote:
my maternal family name was “Martrana” in Sicily. My great grandfather changed it to “martrain” when he emigrated
In cases like this, wasn’t it sometimes up to the Customs/Immigration officials ear or whim as to what they wrote down?
Posted on 12/21/21 at 12:47 pm to weagle99
Sometimes when a person came over from another country, his/her name was misspelled as surnames can have variant spellings (e.g. Smith, Smyth, Smythe). Due to illiteracy, the person may not have known it was misspelled.
Posted on 12/21/21 at 1:04 pm to weagle99
quote:
Went down the ancestry rabbit hole: Why would someone change spelling of last name?
Couldn't spell
Posted on 12/21/21 at 1:10 pm to Stealth Matrix
A lot of people probably didn’t give a shite how their names were spelled. Different priorities. They probably thought they could spell it however they wanted so they did.
This post was edited on 12/21/21 at 1:11 pm
Posted on 12/21/21 at 1:13 pm to weagle99
Mine did it. Hispanic/Spanish name and changed it to a similar French name as the French were taking over control of Louisiana from the Spaniards.
Posted on 12/21/21 at 1:16 pm to weagle99
1. Sounded more American
2. Easier to spell
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