Dear Baden-Wuerttemberg List Friends, Here are some notes I've compiled to contribute to answering the common question, "How/Why Would My Ancestor's Surname Be Changed?" We see this and similar questions often from members on the Baden-Wuerttemberg Mailing List. While mine is certainly not the definitive answer, the notes from my own experience in dealing with ancestral surnames may be of interest to some, so I am taking the liberty of re-posting it here. :-) ------------------------------------------------------------- Whenever you research ANY resource for ancestral information, remember that the name versions or name spellings under which your ancestors appear in a given resource may *or may not* be those you are *expecting* to find. Some reasons: 1. While *not every* immigrant or family changed his or her name (or had them altered by others), family researchers should prepare for the *possibility* that the names they have grown used to may bear little resemblance to the immigrant's 'original' name. Also realize that even in *European* records, the spelling or other features of a particular surname can vary considerably---it's pretty rare to find a single, 'standardized' spelling of a surname, used consistently, in most records. As has already been pointed out in related messages by others, spelling WAS NOT AT ALL STANDARDIZED in former centuries (and is still a relatively "recent" phenomenon by genealogical time-measuring criteria.) Spelling and transcription (committing verbal pronunciation to paper), in particular, will literally depend upon the language, literacy level, and good ear of the scribe (the person writing a document), *even in the ancestor's homeland.* 2. AFTER CROSSING THE ATLANTIC? Many family researchers don't realize that official American documents were NOT often personally written (or application forms filled out) by their ancestors. More often, a clerk or public official completed most paperwork, obtaining the information verbally from the person to whom the document pertained, or his interpreter (if any). (On many official records, the only portion actually *written* by the ancestor is the signature---if the person was literate.) You want to avoid assuming, "This is the way Grandpa spelled it on his naturalization [or whatever] form, so it must be the right way." U. S. officials could have easily mangled the name by scribbling or mistyping it in haste, carelessness, or linguistic ignorance---and your ancestor *may or may not have been able* to recognize/call attention to errors or variances. Some were stuck with a misspelled or mis-rendered name form thereafter, or didn't bother to change it. 3. Keep in mind, too, that THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE WHO HAD NAME CHANGES *DID NOT* HAVE THEM LEGALLY/OFFICIALLY CHANGED BY A COURT. Be aware that (especially many years ago in the US) it was entirely possible to simply *use* a name one chose to establish an identity with that name. (My Polish BARANOWSKI maternal ancestors who settled in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania changed their surname to BROWN one day, in the course of a family wedding---my great-grandfather BARANOWSKI merely started calling himself and children BROWN, and his male descendants remain BROWN to this day. You'd never know from looking at the name that the bearers had native Polish origins!) *grin* 3. Many of what appear to a family researcher to be 'mistakes' in a name are actually NOT the result of an *error.* A significant number of immigrants *intentionally* modified their *own* names, or the spelling/pronunciation of those names, after settling in a new country. Contrary to the popular myth of foreign names being arbitrarily altered by others upon immigrants' arrival "at Ellis Island" (or some other processing facility), these changes were more often brought about by the *immigrant's own needs or preferences.* Some changes may have happened quickly, while others evolved slowly over time. Some non-English names were simply too difficult to pronounce for English-speakers, and were quickly simplified. Others were altered by American employers who found it bothersome to address workers by unfamiliar, tongue-twisting European names. Many other immigrants sincerely wished to quickly "fit in" to the culture and social customs of their new land, and "Americanized" their names to facilitate the process. Some went so far as to transform their existing name forms into another language, evolving from "Karl RITTER" to "Charles KNIGHT" (the same names in German and English) or similar changes. And, last but not least---the more *complex* the syllables in a non-English name, the greater the chance of someone mangling it in the US or other English-speaking countries. :-) You may want to sit down with pencil and paper, and try to imagine a few possible variations in the spelling or form of your surname of interest---e.g., SCHMIDT, SCHMITT, SCHMID, SCHMIED, (and their English counterparts SMITH, SMYTH and SMYTHE) can all be variants of the *same* name. Remember, even if (to your knowledge) your family has "always used" the same form of a name in the country in which they settled, that doesn't *guarantee* that the name was spelled or pronounced that way, or even *used,* at other times. Literally and figuratively, surnames are written in neither blood nor stone. Hope this helps! Wishing you the best possible success in family research, Carla HELLER, Los Angeles, California USA mscarlah@earthlink.net List Co-Administrator, ROOTSWEB'S Baden-Wuerttemberg Mailing List