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→Surnames Historical Development
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*'''Merchants and townspeople''' then adopted the custom, as did the '''rural population'''. This process took two or three centuries. | *'''Merchants and townspeople''' then adopted the custom, as did the '''rural population'''. This process took two or three centuries. | ||
===Surname Changes of Immigrants in the United States=== | ===Surname Changes of Immigrants in the United States=== | ||
'''As | '''As immigrants moved into English-speaking countries, their surnames were impacted in a variety of ways. Immigrants often changed their surnames to sound more American. Contrary to popular belief, this change was not made at Ellis Island.''' | ||
*Most of the time the surname spelling changed to accommodate the '''different phonetic spelling in the English language'''. In other words, the recorder tried to write the name the way he heard it. Diacritical marks were often dropped and replaced by the unmarked English counterparts or substituted with equivalent sounding letters. | |||
*Most of the time the surname spelling changed to accommodate the '''different phonetic spelling in the English language'''. In other words, the recorder tried to write the name the way he heard it. | **''ė'' became ''e'' | ||
*Surnames may also have been translated outright into English, sometimes with a slight twist. | **''ū'' became ''u'' | ||
*Within | **''č'' became ''c'' or ''ch'' or ''cz'' | ||
**''š'' became ''s'' or ''sh'' or ''sz'' | |||
**''ž'' became ''z'' or ''zh'' | |||
*If the surname was short, easy to pronounce and/or uncomplicated, it may have stayed the same. On the other hand, if a surname was long, complicated and/or difficult to pronounce, an ending may have been changed or removed to make it shorter. | |||
*If the surname was a patronymic surname (typically ending it -aitis; -avičius; -evičius and meaning "son of") the immigrant may continue that tradition. For example, the surname ''Adomaitis'' (means son of Adam) may drop the Lithuaianin -aitis ending and replace it with that of -son, becoming an Adamson in the United States. | |||
*Surnames may also have been translated outright into English, sometimes with a slight twist. For example, the Lithuanian surname "Balkus" means "white." A Lithuanian immigrant with the surname of Balkus may have became a White in the United States. | |||
*Surname endings implying marital status for women were often dropped in the United States. | |||
**In the United States, unmarried Lithuanian women dropped the traditional -''tė'' ending (which implied a woman was single) and took the same surnames as their fathers. For example, the daughter of a man with the surname of Aleksaitis would have been known as Aleksaitytė in Lithuania. In the United States, it was common for women to go by the surnames of their fathers without the -''tė'' ending. | |||
**In the United States, married Lithuanian women dropped the traditional -''ienė'' ending (which implied a woman was single) and took the same surnames as their husbands. For example, the wife of a man with the surname of Aleksaitis would have been known as Aleksaitienė. In the United States, it was common for women to go by the surnames of their husbands without the -''ienė'' ending. | |||
*Within a Lithuanian community, such as the local parish, immigrants may continue to use the original name, while at the same time ''using English-language equivalents when dealing with local government, census takers, and other English speakers.'' | |||
*Different branches of the same family may adopt various surname spellings. | *Different branches of the same family may adopt various surname spellings. | ||
*Prior to 1900, formal surname changes documented in local court records are relatively rare. | *Prior to 1900, formal surname changes documented in local court records are relatively rare. Most surname changes occurred naturally over time. | ||
*During the early 20th Century, especially the World War I era, surname changes are recorded more frequently, as immigrants or, more often, their children, tried to adopt more neutral surnames. | *During the early 20th Century, especially the World War I era, surname changes are recorded more frequently, as immigrants or, more often, their children, tried to adopt more neutral surnames. | ||