why would an ancestor change their surname?

Question

I found out recently that my surname is not my actual surname and that my great grandfather changed it.

My actual surname is french while the one I have is completely different and dutch.

What are some of the reasons he would do this?

Answer 1

Depending on the time your Great Grandfather immigrated to the US (and I am assuming he did this), he may have needed to work in an area that did not like the French. Dutch may have been more acceptable, and perceived as loyal and hardworking. It could also be that his immigration was logged at Ellis Island, where they tended to change peoples names because the wrote what they though they heard people say. So his immigration papers would be the key.

You can investigate the ships manifest to see how he registered when he came to this country, and then look at the Ellis Island web site to see when and how he registered. That would tell you a lot.

In my Grandfathers case, he changed his name to Scottish from an Irish spelling so people would know he was Scottish. The Irish could not get jobs.

Answer 2

BTW, most people NEVER had their names changed at Ellis island. The folks at Ellis Island simply copied the ships manifests that came over the ocean with the names already written.

Most names got changed in the home port, and most changes happened because of different languages. Remember, most languages do NOT use the English alphabet, and most languages have sounds which simply don't exist in the english language.

Example - My great-grandfathers last name in English is dePolo. However, when the original croatian spelling was written in English by an Austrian official, it came out Dipoli. Until I saw his naturalization papers, I wasn't able to find him.

People did change their names to avoid sounding too ethnic and have a better chance of getting a job. Also, people who had noted criminals or other infamous people in their family would change their surname to avoid association.

Many ethnicities have their surname first, but end up with their personal name as their surname. If you are from China and have the surname Lu, as the first word stated in your name, it might end up as your first name in the US. This makes Chinese genealogy very difficult at times.

Also, the original question says that your surname is not your actual surname. Baloney!! Your surname is your surname. Your parents could have given you a surname completely different from anything in the family, and that would be your surname. Your FAMILY surname was changed in the past.

A great guide to this is "They Came in Ships" by John Colletta. Very good. I've included a link.

Answer 3

My great grandfather changed his last name about 1901. The family stories from both surnames say that the law was after him.
The original spelling of my ancestors were German and it was changed to an English spelling when they took the Oath of Allegiance in Pennsylvania. Many surnames changed when our ancestors came to America with different spellings. Such as Schlencker changed to Slinker, Slenker, Slinkard, Clinker or how it sounded to who ever was writing it down.
I found that on every census since 1790 that the spelling of the surname was spelled differently. I learned in one of the genealogy classes I took that the census takers wrote what they heard. In the early days, if someone moved to an area and people who already lived there had a similar name, they would spell their surname differently. People did not have to go to court to get there names changed, it was legal to change it to any name they wanted. Not sure exactly what year a law was made where they had to go to court to have the first and last name legally changed.

Answer 4

Well many immigrants that came to America changed their names to ones that were more pronounceable, or seemed more American. Sometimes a misspelling occurred due to the lack of education, and not really knowing how to spell their own name. So when an official or someone of the sort asked them their name, the official wrote down the name how they thought it was spelled. Or sometimes when coming, officials changed a name such as Johansen to Jones automatically. This is something that happened frequently, and there are many scenarios or reasons.

Answer 5

When immigrants used to come through Ellis Island, if their name was difficult for the officials they might write it down wrong, or anglicize it or just make it simpler.

He might have changed the name if he was under persecution.

I am sure there are other reasons a well, so it looks to me like you have some fun geneaological research ahead of you.

Answer 6

Many times when immigrants would be processed, like at Ellis Island for example, and the clerks only spoke English so they would change the names to something that sounded American or was easier to pronounce.

Answer 7

I heard the story of a man named Tom Harris who had killed someone & while he was hiding out in a graveyard he took a new name off a tombstone. Riddlespurge, which sometimes he changed to Riddlesbury.

Answer 8

some change their names if they had legal problems. My stepfather's grandfather changed his name from an Irish name to an English name because he couldn't get a job otherwise in this country

Answer 9

People used to change their names depending on their line of work.Others were leaving oppression behind and wanted a new start with a fresh name.Some may have been criminals who didn't want to be found by their former country.

Answer 10

to escape religious persecution. i know someone who had irish ancestors who changed their surname so they could find jobs.