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Theanglicisation of personal names is the change of non-English-language personal names to spellings nearer English sounds, or substitution of equivalent or similar English personal names in the place of non-English personal names.
A small number of figures, mainly very well-known classical and religious writers, appear under English names—or more typically under Latin names, in English texts. This practice became prevalent as early as in English-language translations of theNew Testament, where translators typically renamed figures such as Yeshu and Simon bar-Jonah asJesus andPeter, and treated most of the other figures in the New Testament similarly. In contrast, translations of theOld Testament traditionally use the original names, more or less faithfully transliterated from the original Hebrew. Transatlantic explorers such asZuan Chabotto andCristoforo Colombo became popularly known as John Cabot and Christopher Columbus; the English-speaking world typically knows the French-born theologianJean Calvin as John Calvin. Such anglicisations became less usual after the sixteenth century.
MostGaelic language surnames of Ireland, Scotland, and theIsle of Man have been anglicized at some time. The Gaels were among the first Europeans to adopt surnames during the Dark Ages. Originally, most Gaelic surnames were composed of the given name of a child's father, preceded byMac (son) or Nic (orNí, both being variants ofnighean, meaningdaughter) depending on thegender. Thesesurnames would not be passed down another generation, and awoman would keep herbirth surname aftermarriage. The same was originally true ofGermanic surnames which followed the pattern [father's given name]+son/daughter (this is still the case inIceland, as exemplified by the singerBjörk Guðmundsdóttir and formerPrime MinisterSigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson). When referring to siblings collectively (or to members of a family or clan that share a "Mac-" surname), the prefix for son or daughter was pluralised. By example,MacAoidh (son of Hugh)becomesMicAoidh (sons of Hugh)andClann MhicAoidh (literally children/descendants of Hugh).The Jacksons in English (with Jack being derived from John) would in Gaelic be rendereda' MhicSheain (the sons of John).
Over the centuries, under the influence of post-medieval English practice, this type of surname has become static over generations, handed down the male lineage to all successive generations so that it no longer indicates the given name of a holder's father any more than the suffix -son on a Germanic language surname does today. Among English-speaking peoples of Gaelic heritage, the use ofNic as a prefix for daughters has been replaced byMac, regardless of sex (as perGeraldine McGowan,Alyth McCormack, andSarah McLachlan). Wives also began to take on the surnames of their husbands.
Another common pattern of surname was similar to that preceded by Mac/Nic, but instead was preceded by Ó or Ui, signifying a grandchild or descendant. Not all Gaelic surnames signified relationship to a forebear, however. Some signified an ancestral people or homeland, such asMacDhubhghaill (son of a dark-haired foreigner; referring to one type of Scandinavian),MacFhionnghaill (son of a fair-haired foreigner; also referring to a Scandinavian people), MacLachlainn or MacLachlainneach (son of a Scandinavian). Others indicated the town or village of a family's origin, sometimes disguised as an ancestor's name as inÓ Creachmhaoil, which prefixes atoponym as though it was the name of a person. As with other culturo-linguistic groups, other types of surnames were often used as well, including trade-names such asMacGhobhainn,Mac a'Ghobhainn orMac Gabhainn (son of the smith), and physical characteristics such as hair colour.
In anglicizing Gaelic names, the prefixesMac,Nic, andÓ were frequently removed (the nameÓ Fathaigh, by example, was sometimes anglicized asFahey orFay, identically to the given name;Ó Leannáin andÓ Lionáin have both been anglicized asLennon;Ó Ceallaigh andÓ Cadhla have been anglicized asKelly). Where they were retained,Mac was often renderedMc,M',orMag- (the last is seen in renderings such asMaguire forMac Uidhir) andÓ/Ui becameO'.MacGhobhainn,Mac a'Ghobhainn andMac Gabhainn (son of the smith) were anglicized asMcGowan,Gowan,McGavin, andGavin. In surnames which had been prefixedMac (which includes most Manx surnames), the final hardc sound remained when theMac was removed. As Gaelic spelling rules required the first letter of a name preceded by Mac or Nic to be lenited (providing it was a consonant other than l, n, or r, which are not generally lenited in Gaelic, or c or g; although in the case of the last two, theyare lenited when the intended connotation is"son/daughter of" rather than a surname. By example, if stating thatJames (Scott) is the son of Calum (Stuart) in Gaelic, it would be phrasedSeumas mac Chaluim, as distinct fromSeumas MacCaluim for a James with the surnameMacCaluim) with the addition of an h after it (originally, this had been indicated in handscript by a dot above the letter, but with the introduction of printing with movable type theh was substituted) after a consonant (silencing it, or changing its sound), and for the last vowel to be slender (i or e) if male, the anglicized form of a Gaelic name could look quite different. By example,MacPhearais (Mac+Pearas=son of Pierce) has been anglicized asCorish, andMacAonghais has been anglicized asMacAngus,MacInnis,MacInnes,Innis,Innes, andGuinness.[1]
As with Gaelic and Germanic surnames,Welsh surnames andCornish surnames had originally been mostlypatronymic, though others containedtoponymic elements, or were derived from trades, or personal characteristics. Surnames which remained fixed across generations, passed down along the male line of descent (provided parents were married) were adopted under the dictate of the English Government from thesixteenth century. As in the Gaelic-speaking areas, manyWelsh (Cymric) patronyms were anglicised by omitting the prefix indicatingson of and either exchanging the father's Welsh forename for its English equivalent, or re-spelling it according to English spelling rules, and, either way, most commonly adding-s to the end, so that the such as 'ap Hywell' becamePowell, and 'ap Siôn' toJones orUpjohn. The first generation to adopt this Anglicisation hereafter handed it down unchanged to children.[2] ManyCornish (Kernewek) names have been anglicised in similar ways.
Anglicisation of non-English-language names was common for immigrants, or even visitors, to English-speaking countries. An example is the German composerJohann Christian Bach, the "London Bach", who was known as "John Bach" after emigrating to England.[3]
During the time in which there were large influxes of immigrants fromEurope to the United States and United Kingdom during the 19th and 20th centuries, the given names and surnames of many immigrants were changed. This became known colloquially as the "Ellis Island Special", after the U.S. immigrant processing center onEllis Island; contrary to popular myth, no names were ever legally changed at Ellis Island, and immigrants almost always changed them at their own discretion.
Traditionally common Christian given names could be substituted: such as James for the etymologically connected Jacques. Alternatively phonetical similarities, such as Joe for Giò (Giovanni or Giorgio); or abbreviation, Harry for Harilaos, or Ricky for Enrique (Henry), as common in Spanish, instead of for (Ricardo) Richard as in English.
The anglicisation of a personal name now usually depends on the preferences of the bearer. Name changes are less common today for Europeans emigrating to the United States than they are for people originating in, or descending from those who emigrated from,East Asian countries. Requests that the bearer anglicize their personal name against their wishes are viewed as a form of racism or xenophobia.[4]
French immigrants to the United States (both those ofHuguenot andFrench-Canadian background) often accommodated those unfamiliar withFrench pronunciations and spellings by altering their surnames (or encounter having them altered) in either of two ways: spellings were changed to fit the traditional pronunciation (Pariseau became Parizo, Boucher became Bushey, Mailloux became Mayhew, Cartier became Carter, Carpentier became Carpenter), or pronunciations were changed to fit the spelling (Benoît, pronouncedFrench pronunciation:[bənwa], became Benway, or Bennett/bɛnˈɔɪt/).[5][6][7][8][9]
Some Greek names are anglicized using the etymologically related name: Agni: Agnes; Alexandros/Alexis: Alexander/Alex; Alexandra: Alexandra/Alex; Andreas: Andrew; Christophoros: Christopher; Evgenios/Evgenis: Eugene/Gene; Eleni: Helen; Georgios/Yorgos: George; Ioannis/Yannis: John; Irini: Irene; Katharini: Catherine/Kate; Markos: Mark; Michail/Michalis: Michael; Nikolaos: Nicholas; Pavlos: Paul; Petros: Peter; Stephanos: Stephen; Theodoros: Theodore/Ted; and so on.
Besides simple abbreviation or anglicisation of spelling, there are some conventional English versions of or nicknames for Greek names which were formerly widely used and are still encountered:[10][11][12]
Hundreds ofSpiritual ChristianDoukhobors who migrated from Russia to Canada from 1899 to 1930, changed their surnames. Genealogist Jonathan Kalmakoff posted comprehensive lists for
Many descendants ofSpiritual Christians from Russia in California, whose parents immigrated to Los Angeles (1904–1912), hid their family surnames due to real and perceived ethnic discrimination during theCold War.[16]
German Americans are the second largest ethnic group in the USA numbering at almost 16 million of US population. with an additional 29 million with some German ancestry. Immigration from Germany can be traced back to 1608 (Jamestown, VA), but migration was highest between the mid 19th century and early 20th century.[17] From 1876 to 1923, Germany was the largest source of US Immigrants.[18] From 1923 to 1970, it was the 2nd largest source of US Immigrants after Italy.[19]
A formal immigration process channeling immigrants through Ellis Island only began in 1892.[20] Immigrants arriving prior to this, did not receive official immigration papers documenting their names. This created a fluidity in how families chose to spell their names.[21]
Legal problems caused by spelling variations in Surnames were addressed by the Land Purchases Act. This Act established the principle ofidem sonans, that is if differently spelled names "sounded the same," a claim of an unbroken line of ownership could be acknowledged.[22] Since preserving the name's sound was legally important, common forms of Surname changes involved spelling adaptations that helped English readers replicate the original German pronunciation.[23]
The First and Second World Warscreated pockets of xenophobia against German Americans. During the same period,The Anti-Saloon league, successfully lobbied the Government to enact prohibition, using racist "us vs them" propaganda against German Americans, who owned a large percentage of American breweries.[24]
During the window of anti-German hostilities in the US, some German Americans chose to blur their connections with their ancestral homeland, by translating part or whole of their surnames into English. Once again, translations that limited change in sound were preferred over those that sounded different.[25] Relative to the sustained German mass immigration during the 19th and early 20th century, this practice of surname translation was unusual and not very widespread.[26]
In the 1940s, automobile registration documents, along with widespread implementation of social security,[27] played an important role in stabilizing American surnames by legally documenting most of the US population's names.[28]
Italian surnames were often anglicized in the United States: for example, the i-ending of a number of Italian names becomesy,e, orie.[29]
WhenDutch immigrants arrived in the United States, often their names got changed. This was either done on purpose, to make the name easier to write and remember, or by accident because the clerk didn't know how to spell the name and wrote it down phonetically.[30][31]
Coastal Salish people were often given "Boston names" by early European settlers. These English names often had similar sounds to originalLushootseed names.[32][33][34]
WhenLushootseed names were integrated into English, they were often recorded and pronounced very differently. An example of this isChief Seattle. The name Seattle is an anglicisation of the modern Duwamish conventional spellingSi'ahl, equivalent to the modernLushootseed spellingsiʔaɫSalishan pronunciation:[ˈsiʔaːɬ]. He is also known asSealth,Seathle,Seathl, orSee-ahth.[35]
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