There are some who believe that their ancestors' names were change at Ellis Island. There are others who discount this claim. My ancestors immigrated before Ellis Island became one of the major immigration centers, so I don't have experiences either way.
My interest in this topic came about from reading others' claims and, most recently, from transcribing documents at FamilySearch for immigrants who lived in New York City and Chicago, Illinois. I thought what I found in the documents might shed light on this discussion. The documents I've transcribed are usually declarations of intention and petitions for naturalization.
From year to year and location to location, the wording of naturalization documents changed, as did the information requested. The papers in 1940 papers may not request the same information in 1915 or 1928 or 1935, etc.
The samples below are undated because the same forms were used for a number of years. I present them as examples of the variety of wording. You'll notice that the Declaration of Intention asks for the petitioner's name upon his arrival. The Petition for Naturalization asks for the petitioner's name upon arrival and also offers him the opportunity to request that his name be changed and to what.
Declaration of Intention (Northern District, Illinois)
I emigrated to the United States of America from _______________
my lawful entry for permanent residence was at _______________
under the name of _______________.
Petition for Naturalization (Northern District, Illinois)
My lawful entry for permanent residence in the United States was at _______________,
under the name of _______________ . . . .
I, your petitioner for naturalization, pray that I may be admitted a citizen of the United States of America, and that my name be changed to _______________,
Petition for Naturalization (Eastern District of Brooklyn, New York)
My lawful entry for permanent residence in the United States of America from _____________________ was at _____________________,
under the name of ______________________ . . . .
Wherefore, I, your petitioner, pray that I may be admitted a citizen of the United States of America, and that my name be changed to ________________.
While indexing I often see requests for name changes. Here are a few I've seen.
Women's Given Names
- Malka to Mollie
- Chaie to Anna
- Hannah to Anna
- Hannah to Hanna
- Elke to Elsie
- Therese to Thea
- Fruma to Fannie
- Gittel to Grace
- Maria to Josephine
- Maria to Mary
- Shandle to Jennie
- Sura to Sarah
- Gudrun to Gertrude
- Bertina to Bertha
- Kataline to Catherine
- Chaje-Sura to Ida
- Rozalia to Rose
- Faura to Tania
- Golde to Pauline
- Bridget to Beatrice
- Lykia to Luka
- Rafalio to Ralph Albert
- Markus to Max
- Alfred to Fred
- Isidore to Isedor
- Vazul to William
- Luigi to Louis
- Schaie to Sam
- Hersh to Harry
- Jurko to George
- Ivanovich to John
- Moisejos or Morris
- Ziegmont to Sigmund
- Mosk/Mosxk to Max
- Szaja to Sam (Polish)
- Wojciech to Albert
- Boldizsar to Baltazar
- Gregor to George
- Berek to Bennie
- Eutranik to Jack
- Buterkuchen to Butter
- Gedacht to Goldfarb
- Hirschhorn to Harris
- Marku to Marcus
- Zelenaia to Zellner
- Szuster to Shuster
- Frieder to Friedes
- Raczkowski to Cohen to Rogers
- Pisani to Pinto
- Haraj to Haray
- Ozderas to Osder
- Paidock to Pudok
- Feilgut to Filgut
- Matusenko to Matusen
- Karlsson to Carlson
- Ismul to Charles
- Marcopoulos to Marks
- Vavrova to Vavrys
- Orlinsky to Forer
- Tchiluigurian to Chulengarian
- Rosenberger to Ross
Some changes seem to be English variants of names from other languages, such as Rozalia to Rose and Rafalio to Ralph. Others seem to have no connection to former names: Orlinsky to Forer and Gedacht to Goldfarb. I'm not fluent in other languages so perhaps there is a connection between the original names and the new names.
Based on the documents I've indexed, it seems more likely to me that individuals requested name changes themselves rather than employees at Ellis Island or elsewhere making the changes without the consent of the immigrants.
You can read more at these two links
Do you have experience with name changes among your ancestors? Can you tell when the name change happened and who initiated it?
—Nancy.
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