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<\/figure>\n\u201cApplicants for U.S. Citizenship in the HIAS Waiting Room\u201d Alter Kaczyne Collection (RG 1270), Courtesy of the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research<\/b><\/p>\n
Names on Ship Passenger Manifests<\/b><\/p>\n
Jews living in Eastern Europe typically went by multiple given names, including a shem ha-kodesh<\/i>, or Hebrew religious name (for men only), a kinnui <\/i>, or secular Yiddish name, and any number of nicknames in Yiddish and\/or the local vernacular language. \u00a0Additionally, some went by a double name, essentially a first and middle name; the two parts could be related in sound, meaning, or Biblical symbolism, like Aryeh Leib (meaning \u201clion\u201d first in Hebrew, then in Yiddish), or be completely unrelated, like Sura Rivka. The given name used on your ancestor\u2019s passenger manifest will be either their secular Yiddish name or a diminutive version of that name. For individuals with double names, the manifest may list only the first name, only the second name, or both in either order. Although your immigrant ancestors\u2019 given names and surnames would have been originally written in the Cyrillic or Hebrew alphabets, on the manifests, they were written down the way that they sounded in the Latin alphabet, according to the phonetic rules of the language of the agent from whom their steamship ticket was purchased (typically, English, German, Dutch, or French). Thus, certain consonants and consonant clusters were frequently used interchangeably (e.g. V and W, or CH and KH) and vowels were particularly interchangeable in various transliteration systems.<\/p>\n
Finding Original Names in Primary Sources<\/b><\/p>\n
While most Eastern European Jewish immigrants did not apply for a legal change of name, there are two key places in which they (or their next-of-kin) may have recorded their pre-Americanized name. The most reliable source of an immigrant\u2019s given name is his\/her tombstone, upon which you will often find the deceased\u2019s Hebrew name inscribed, in accordance with Jewish tradition. \u00a0For men, you will need to use the Hebrew name on the tombstone to infer their likely Yiddish name, again typically related to one another in sound, meaning, or Biblical symbolism. For women, the Hebrew and Yiddish names are the same. For more information on how to locate a tombstone, see our cemetery research guide<\/a>.<\/p>\n Another potential source of an immigrant\u2019s pre-Americanized name (in this case, the secular Yiddish given name and European surname) is his\/her naturalization petition, the second and final form required in the citizenship application process. It is important to keep in mind that many immigrants never became U.S. citizens and that, prior to 1922, a woman\u2019s citizenship status was derived from either her husband or father and, therefore, she would not have filed a naturalization petition herself. For more information on how to locate a naturalization petition, see our naturalization research guide<\/a>.<\/p>\n Inferring Original Names from Common Name Change Patterns<\/b><\/p>\n If the above sources are unavailable or unhelpful, you may try to infer an ancestor\u2019s Yiddish name based on the English name they adopted in the U.S.; however, it is important to remember that there are no fixed English equivalents for Yiddish names. \u00a0Most immigrants changed their given name to one that shared only the same initial letter or sound. Most Biblical names have versions in every European language, including English. If the English equivalent name was trendy at that time, then that name was the one most often adopted by an immigrant. For example, in Warren Blatt\u2019s study of over 6,000 tombstones in several early 20th-century landsmanshaft cemeteries in New York and Boston, 94% of those buried with the English name Abe or Abraham were born with the Hebrew equivalent Avraham. \u00a0 In contrast, only 4% of those named Moshe took on the unfashionable English equivalent, Moses. For most post-Biblical Jewish names, such as Fruma, there is no English equivalent; likewise, for immigrants who adopted English names with non-Jewish roots, there is no Hebrew or Yiddish equivalent. In the aforementioned tombstone study, those who were buried with the name Bertha (of German origin) were almost equally likely to have been born as Breina (26%), Beila (26%), or Bracha (17%). In a small number of cases, the immigrant chose a new given name that had nothing to do with their Hebrew or Yiddish names (Blatt, \u201cJewish Given Names\u201d). <\/p>\n With surnames, many immigrants made minor spelling changes to conform to American pronunciation (e.g. \u00a0Lewinowicz became Levinowitz) or simply shortened the name to make it easier for Americans to pronounce (e.g. Lewinowicz became Lewin). However, as with given names, there were some who adopted a new surname that had no resemblance to their original surname (e.g. Lewinowicz became Miller). \u00a0Jewish given name and surname dictionaries and databases may assist you in creating a list of common Yiddish versions of your ancestors\u2019 English names. \u00a0For a comprehensive list of these resources, see our Jewish names research guide<\/a>.<\/p>\n Still Stuck? We Can Help!<\/b><\/p>\n At the Ackman & Ziff Family Genealogy Institute, we have extensive experience assisting researchers in locating their ancestors\u2019 original names. Feel free to visit us in person or on our website, genealogy.cjh.org<\/a>, if you have questions about this process.<\/p>\n References:<\/b><\/p>\n Beider, Alexander. A Dictionary of Ashkenazic Given Names: Their Origins, Structure, Pronunciation, and Migrations<\/i>. Bergenfield, NJ: Avotaynu, 2001.<\/p>\n Blatt, Warren.\u201dGiven Names.\u201d Avotaynu Guide to Jewish Genealogy<\/i>. Eds. Sallyann Amdur Sack and Gary Mokotoff. Bergenfield, NJ: Avotaynu, 2004, p. 35-42. <\/p>\n —. \u201cJewish Given Names.\u201d 18th Seminar on Jewish Genealogy, <\/i>July 1998, Los Angeles. Slides accessed at http:\/\/www.jewishgen.org\/InfoFiles\/GivenNames.<\/a> Accessed 5 July 2017.<\/p>\n Kurzweil, Arthur. From Generation to Generation: How to Trace Your Jewish Genealogy and Family History<\/i>. Updated edition with online resources. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2011.<\/p>\n Mokotoff, Gary. Getting Started in Jewish Genealogy<\/i>. 2016-2017 edition. New Haven, CT: Avotaynu, 2016.<\/p>\n Sack-Pikus, Sallyann. \u201cJust How Were Passenger Manifests Created?\u201d Avotaynu Online<\/i>, 1 Apr. 2009, http:\/\/www.avotaynuonline.com\/2009\/04\/just-how-were-passenger-manifests-created-by-sallyann-amdur-sack-pikus-editor.<\/a> Accessed 5 July 2017.<\/p>\n Sutton, Phillip. \u201cWhy Your Family Name Was Not Changed at Ellis Island (and One That Was).\u201d New York Public Library<\/i>, 2 July 2013, https:\/\/www.nypl.org\/blog\/2013\/07\/02\/name-changes-ellis-island.<\/a> Accessed 5 July 2017.<\/p>\n Trauring, Philip. \u201cName Changes at Ellis Island.\u201d Blood and Frogs<\/i>, 10 May 2011, https:\/\/bloodandfrogs.com\/2011\/05\/name-changes-at-ellis-island.html.<\/a> Accessed 5 July 2017.<\/p>\n