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*Headstones are often inscribed with both the original Jewish names and the names used in the United States. | *Headstones are often inscribed with both the original Jewish names and the names used in the United States. | ||
*Multiple given and surname spelling changes are possible during an individual's lifetime. | *Multiple given and surname spelling changes are possible during an individual's lifetime. | ||
*When searching for a family in a census or on a passenger list, look for the family overall (birth order of boys and girls, relative ages, occupation) as much as the actual recorded names. | *When searching for a family in a census or on a passenger list, look for the family overall (birth order of boys and girls, relative ages, occupation) as much as the actual recorded names. | ||
*Surname Changes | |||
==== Given Name Changes ==== | |||
*Explore the JewishGen.org given names databases by clicking [http://www.jewishgen.org/databases/GivenNames/ here]. | |||
*Ancestry.com also has an excellent database for Jewish given names. Read also the ''Jewish Given Name Variations'' article on lower part of the search page. | |||
**With an Ancestry.com membership, click [http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1528 here]. | |||
**From the Family History Library, a Family History Center, or other participating institution, click [http://search.ancestryintitution.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1528 here]. | |||
==== Surname Changes ==== | |||
*To understand the scope of the surname challenge, read the Wikipedia.org article ''Cohen (and its variations) as a surname'' by clicking [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kohen#Cohen_.28and_its_variations.29_as_a_surname here]. | |||
*Immigrants from foreign countries were often faced with the following choices: | |||
**Change European special characters (diacritics) and letter combinations to approximate English equivalents [e.g., Weiß to Weiss]. | |||
**Retain the original spelling, but have the name mispronounced. | |||
**Change the spelling to retain the pronunciation. | |||
**Translate the last name to English [e.g., Weiß to White, Zimmermann to Carpenter, Schwartz to Black]. | |||
**Change the name to make it less foreign-sounding [e.g. Meier to Myer, Leo Kochanski to Hans Leon]. | |||
*To find possible alternative spellings, try searching the JewishGen.org Family Finder database by clicking [http://www.jewishgen.org/jgff/ here]. Use the spellings you already have with the "sounds like" or "starts with" options. This may yield suggestions for alternate spellings. | |||
*Find additional information in these books available at the reference desk in the Family History Library: | |||
**''A Dictionary of German-Jewish Surnames'' by Lars Menk. | |||
**''A Dictionary of Jewish Surnames from the Kingdom of Poland'', by Alexander Beider. | |||
**''A Dictionary of Jewish Surnames from the Russian Empire'', by Alexander Beider. | |||
**''Finding Our Fathers, A Guidebook to Jewish Genealogy'', by Dan Rottenberg, Section: Alphabetical List of Family Names, starting on page 149. |
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