Many Jewish Americans’ names are radically different from the ones their ancestors were known by in ‘the old country’.

But this taking of a new name for a new country was a choice – not one forced on them, as family lore often has it, by uncaring immigration bureaucracy at Ellis Island.

Here’s the history obscured by the quest for authenticity:
https://theconversation.com/jewish-americans-changed-their-names-but-not-at-ellis-island-96152
#JewishHeritageMonth #JewishAmericanHeritageMonth #History @histodons

Jewish Americans changed their names, but not at Ellis Island

Thousands of Jewish immigrants and their children changed their names in America – but not at Ellis Island. The reasons are complicated and part of the Jewish struggle with their identity in America.

^{The Conversation}