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Name Changes at Ellis Island: Myth or Not?

© Eva Holmes

The scene of Don Corleone’s arrival in Ellis Island in the movie The Godfather II shaped my views of the Ellis Island experience for years. The young boy, sick, scared, and alone, was forced to take the name of his town instead of his own last name because he couldn’t communicate with the inspectors at the Island. Okay, I’m not really sure if I’ve remembered that part right. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen that movie… but it gave me the impression, at the least, that mistakes of that sort were all too common.

The idea of an ancestor using the name of their hometown instead of their parent’s name rang especially true for me. I’ve been working with the last name Calabrese. For years we assumed our ancestors came from Calabria. It just made sense. Many Italian immigrants came from the southern part of the country, and with a name like Calabrese, where else could they come from?

But they didn’t come from Calabria- at least, not as far as I can tell. This story, of people being named after towns when they came to America, has been told to me many, many times, quite often by experienced genealogists. But according to an article hosted on an INS website, most of the stories about name changes due to the callousness of employees at Ellis Island are not exactly true. You can read why in the article at this website: http://www.ins.usdoj.gov/graphics/abouti...

That isn’t to say that mistakes weren’t made. I’ve encountered more variations in spelling of my ancestors’ names than I care to count, in all sorts of records. Yet I find these same misspellings in the non-Italian side of my family as well- the part that’s been in America so long we can’t make a connection to Europe. People, in general, just weren’t as literate or fussy about spelling, as they are now.

Some immigrants did change their names on purpose. Hard to pronounce names were simplified, long names shortened. Sometimes a person changed their ethnic sounding name to escape or minimize discrimination, like the German-Americans who changed their names during World War II. Italians unable to find work were likely candidates for a name change.

Or perhaps your ancestors changed their names for a reason completely unrelated to Americanization or discrimination. My great-great uncle lived in America for years with a very Italian name… which he changed after he was involved in an accidental death. He changed his name to O’Neal and left town with his family.