I found this happening in East Prussia - I am researching the name Plohmann - The first two children were christened as "Plohmann" The next 4 children were christened as "Plaumann" I think it depended on the priest and how he decided to spell the names, so There must have been a change of priests after the first two children, and Who knows what nationality the Greek Catholic priest might have been. He may not have known the language of the people in his church. Muriel -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of the cohens Sent: Monday, February 16, 2009 9:09 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [PBS] Name change "myth" I was also talking about birth and marriage records in England and the US for my Vishnick family. The birth records have been horribly elusive, and I think those names are official legal names, aren't they? No, strictly speaking, it is not a name change of an individual, it is giving a new family member a different surname spelling than the rest of the family.