The anglicisation 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.

Anglicisation of personal names

Classical, medieval and Renaissance figures

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 the

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

, where translators typically renamed figures such as Yeshu and Simon bar-Jonah as

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

and Peter, and treated most of the other figures in the New Testament similarly. In contrast, translations of the

Old Testament The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...

traditionally use the original names, more or less faithfully transliterated from the original Hebrew. Transatlantic explorers such as Zuan Chabotto and Cristoforo Colombo became popularly known as John Cabot and Christopher Columbus; the English-speaking world typically knows the French-born theologian Jean Calvin as John Calvin. Such anglicisations became less usual after the sixteenth century.

Non-English-language areas of Great Britain and Ireland

Most Gaelic language surnames of Ireland, Scotland, and the

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

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 by Mac (''son'') or Nic (or ''Ní'', both being variants of ''nighean'', meaning '' daughter'') depending on the

gender Gender is the range of social, psychological, cultural, and behavioral aspects of being a man (or boy), woman (or girl), or third gender. Although gender often corresponds to sex, a transgender person may identify with a gender other tha ...

. These

surname In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...

s would not be passed down another generation, and a

woman A woman is an adult female human. Before adulthood, a female child or Adolescence, adolescent is referred to as a girl. Typically, women are of the female sex and inherit a pair of X chromosomes, one from each parent, and women with functi ...

would keep her birth surname after

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

. The same was originally true of Germanic surnames which followed the pattern ather's given nameson/daughter (this is still the case in

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

, as exemplified by the singer Björk Guðmundsdóttir and former

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Sigmundur 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'') ''becomes ''MicAoidh (''sons of Hugh'') ''and ''Clann MhicAoidh (''literally children/descendants of Hugh''). '' The Jacksons in English (with Jack being derived from John) would in Gaelic be rendered ''a' 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 of ''Nic'' as a prefix for daughters has been replaced by ''Mac'', regardless of sex (as per Geraldine McGowan, Alyth McCormack, and Sarah 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 as ''MacDhubhghaill'' (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 in Ó Creachmhaoil, which prefixes a

toponym Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''wikt:toponym, toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage, and types. ''Toponym'' is the general term for ...

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 as ''MacGhobhainn'', ''Mac a'Ghobhainn'' or ''Mac Gabhainn'' (''son of the smith''), and physical characteristics such as hair colour. In anglicizing Gaelic names, the prefixes ''Mac'', ''Nic'', and ''Ó'' were frequently removed (the name ''Ó Fathaigh'', by example, was sometimes anglicized as ''Fahey'' or ''Fay'', identically to the given name; ''Ó Leannáin'' and ''Ó Lionáin'' have both been anglicized as ''Lennon''; ''Ó Ceallaigh'' and ''Ó Cadhla'' have been anglicized as ''Kelly''). Where they were retained, ''Mac'' was often rendered ''Mc'', ''M', ''or ''Mag-'' (the last is seen in renderings such as ''Maguire'' for ''Mac Uidhir'') and ''Ó/Ui'' became ''O. ''MacGhobhainn'', ''Mac a'Ghobhainn'' and ''Mac Gabhainn'' (''son of the smith'') were anglicized as ''McGowan'', ''Gowan'', ''McGavin'', and ''Gavin''. In surnames which had been prefixed ''Mac'' (which includes most Manx surnames), the final hard ''c'' sound remained when the ''Mac'' 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, they ''are'' lenited when the intended connotation is ''"son/daughter of"'' rather than a surname. By example, if stating that ''James (Scott) is the son of Calum (Stuart)'' in Gaelic, it would be phrased ''Seumas mac Chaluim'', as distinct from ''Seumas MacCaluim'' for a James with the surname ''MacCaluim'') 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 the ''h'' 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 as ''Corish'', and ''MacAonghais'' has been anglicized as ''MacAngus'', ''MacInnis'', ''MacInnes'', ''Innis'', ''Innes'', and ''Guinness''. As with Gaelic and Germanic surnames, Welsh surnames and Cornish surnames had originally been mostly

patronymic A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (more specifically an avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. It is the male equivalent of a matronymic. Patronymics are used, b ...

, though others contained

ic 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 the sixteenth century. As in the Gaelic-speaking areas, many Welsh (''Cymric'') patronyms were anglicised by omitting the prefix indicating ''son 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' became Powell, and 'ap Siôn' to Jones or Upjohn. The first generation to adopt this Anglicisation hereafter handed it down unchanged to children. Many Cornish (''Kernewek'') names have been anglicised in similar ways.

Immigration to English-speaking countries

Anglicisation of non-English-language names was common for immigrants, or even visitors, to English-speaking countries. An example is the German composer Johann Christian Bach, the "London Bach", who was known as "John Bach" after emigrating to England. During the time in which there were large influxes of immigrants from

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

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 on Ellis 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.

French surnames

French immigrants to the United States (both those of Huguenot and French-Canadian background) often accommodated those unfamiliar with French 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, pronounced , became Benway, or Bennett ). * Benoit: Bennett, Benning, Benway * Boucher: Bush, Bushey * Caúvin: Calvin * Carpentier: Carpenter * Carré: Carey, Carrey * Carteret, Cartier: Carter * Croquetagne: Crockett * Cussaq: Cusack, Cusick * DeMontgomerie: Montgomery * Goúrdon: Gordon * Gránd, LeGránd: Grant * Olivier: Oliver * Parquier: Parker * Phillippe: Philips, Phillips * Poitier: Porter * Steuart: Stewart, Stuart * Vernou: Vernon

Greek given names

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: * Anestis: Ernest * Alexandros: Alexander, Alex * Apostolos: Paul * Aristotelis: Aristotle * Anastasia: Ana, Stasi, Stacey * Andreas: Andrew * Angeliki: Angela, Angel * Athanasios: Thomas, Tom, Athan, Nathan * Christos: Chris * Demosthenes: Dick * Despina: Dessi, Tessi, Tess * Dimitrios/Dimi: James, Jim, Jimmy, Demi * Dionysios: Dennis, Dean * Haralambos: Harry, Bob * Harilaos: Charles, Harry * Eleftherios/Lefteris: Terence, Terry * Eleftheria: Elli, Terrie * Eleni: Helen, Elaine * Evgenia: Eugenia * Gavriil: Gabriel, Gabe * Georgios, Yiorgos: George * Ilias: Louie, Elias, Lou, Louis * Konstantinos/Kostas: Gus, Charles, Dean, Constantine * Leonidas: Leo * Maria: Mary, Marie * Michail: Michael, Mike * Michaella: Michelle * Nikolaos: Nicholas, Nick * Panayiotis: Peter, Pete (cf. Petros) * Pavlos: Paul * Stavros: Steve * Vasilios: William, Bill; (''etymologically correct but not preferred'': Basil) Hundreds of Spiritual Christian Doukhobors who migrated from Russia to Canada from 1899 to 1930, changed their surnames. Genealogist Jonathan Kalmakoff posted comprehensive lists for
Alberta (1935–1975)

British Columbia
(1936–1975)
Saskatchewan (1917–1975)

Russian surnames

Many descendants of Spiritual 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 the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

. * Androff, Veronin: Andrews * Butchinoff: Baker * Baklanov: Bakly * Bolderoff: Bolder * Pivovaroff: Brewer * Chernikoff: Cherney * Arinin, Orloff: Eagles * Carpoff: Karp * Chernabieff: Sharon * Chickenoff, Chickinoff: Chick * Corneyff: Corney * Domansky: Domane * Egnatoff: Egnatu * Elinov: Eleen * Fetesoff: Martin * Fettesoff, Fettisoff: Fettis * Galitzen: Riley * Goulokin: Golf * Gvozdiff: Niles * Hallivichoff, Golovachev: Hall * Kalpakoff: Kalp * Kashirsky: Kash * Kasimoff: Kazy * Kisseloff, Kesseloff: Kissell * Klubnikin: Klubnik * Konovaloff: Conway * Kotoff: Kott * Krasilnikoff: Krase * Kriakin: Emerald * Kuznetsoff: Cousins * Laschenco: Lashin * Ledieav: Liege * Mackshanoff: Maxwell * Martinov, Martynov: Martin * Melnikoff: Melnick * Moiseve: Mosser * Petrov, Petrova: Peters * Petrovich: Peterson * Plujnkoff: Pluss * Popoff: Preston * Rabinovich, Rabinovitz, Rabinowitz: Robinson * Robertov, Robertovich: Roberts, Robertson * Robinovich, Robinov: Robinson * Rudometkin: Remmy * Rudometkin: Ruddy * Semenisheff: Samoff * Slivkoff: Martin * Smitrovich, Zmitrowicz: Smith * Syapin: Seaking * Tikhunov: Saber * Tolmasoff: Thomas, Thompson, Tolmas * Urane: Durain * Uren: Wren * Varonin: Johnson * Volkoff: Wolf

German surnames

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. From 1876 to 1923, Germany was the largest source of US Immigrants. From 1923 to 1970, it was the 2nd largest source of US Immigrants after Italy. A formal immigration process channeling immigrants through Ellis Island only began in 1892. 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. Legal problems caused by spelling variations in Surnames were addressed by the Land Purchases Act. This Act established the principle of ''idem sonans,'' that is if differently spelled names "sounded the same," a claim of an unbroken line of ownership could be acknowledged. 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. The First and Second World Wars created 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. 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. 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. In the 1940s, automobile registration documents, along with widespread implementation of social security, played an important role in stabilizing American surnames by legally documenting most of the US population's names. * Becker: Baker, Beck * Bennink: Benning * Bresler, Bressler: Presley * Braum, Braun: Brown * Freedman, Freedmann, Friedman, Friedmann: Freeman * Gaetz: Gates * Jensen, Jenssens: Johnson * Koch: Cook * Müller, Mueller: Miller * Nauman, Naumann, Neuman, Neumann, Nieman, Niemann, Numan, Numann: Newman * Nielsen, Nilsen: Nelson * Pieters, Pieterse: Peters * Pietersen, Pieterssen: Peterson * Presler, Pressler: Presley * Schmid, Schmidl, Schmidt, Schmitt, Schmitz: Smith * Schweigert, Zweigert: Stewart, Stuart * Siewert, Steier, Steiert, Steiger, Steuer, Steuert, Stewert: Stewart, Stuart * Stadler, Stetler: Statler * Sten, Stein, Steinn, Steiner: Stone * Wachter, Watcher, Welker, Welcker: Walker * Weber: Weaver, Webb, Webster * Werner, Werhner: Warner

Italian surnames

Italian surnames were often anglicized in the United States: for example, the i-ending of a number of Italian names becomes ''y'', ''e'', or ''ie''. * Amici: Ameche * Barbieri: Barber * Benetti, Benedetto: Benedict, Bennett, Benning * Bevilacqua: Drinkwater * Bianco: White * Bonfiglio: Bonfield * Borgnino: Borgnine * Brucceleri: Brooklier * Canadeo: Kennedy * Castiglia: Costello * Cestaro: Chester * Cilibrizzi: Celebrezze * Cipulli: Cipully * Crocetti: Crockett * Cucco, Cuoco: Cook * DeCesare: Chase * DeMarti, DeMartina, DeMartini, DeMartino: Martin * Marti, Martina, Martini, Martino: Martin * Mercante: Merchant * Morillo: Morill * Pace: Pace same spelling different pronunciation * Perri: Perry * Piccolo: Little * Rossellini: Russell * Rossi: Ross * Sangiovanni: St. John * Saraceni: Sarazen * Scalice, Scalise: Scalise, Scalish * Scornavacca, Scornavacco: Scarnavack * Scotta, Scotti, Scotto: Scott * Ta(g)liaferro: Tolliver, Toliver * Trafficante: Traficant * Valentino: Valentine * Vinciguerra: Winwar

Dutch surnames

When Dutch 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. * Aalderink: Aaldering, Aldering * Bennink: Benning * Buiel: Boyle * Damkot: Damcott * de Jong: Dejong, DeYoung, Young * Dijkstra: Dykstra * Filips: Philips, Phillips * Gerritsen: Garrison * Glieuwen: Glewen * Goudswaard: Houseworth * Griffoen: Griffin * Hoed: Hood * Janszoon, Janssens: Johnson * Kempink: Camping * Konings: King * Kuiper: Cooper * Langstraat: Longstreet * Meester: Master * Nieuwenhuis, Nijenhuis: Newhouse * Nieman, Niemann: Newman * Piek: Pike * Pieters, Pieterse: Peters * Pietersen, Pieterssen, Pieterszoon: Peterson * Smid: Smith * Spaak: Spock * Steyaert, Stuywaert, Styaert: Stewart, Stuart * Van Cruijningen: Cunningham * Veenhuis: Feenhouse * Welhuis, Welhuizen: Wellhouse, Willhouse * Zutphen: Sutphin

Colonization by English-speaking countries

North America

=Coastal Salish

= Coastal Salish people were often given "Boston names" by early European settlers. These English names often had similar sounds to original Lushootseed names. When Lushootseed names were integrated into English, they were often recorded and pronounced very differently. An example of this is Chief Seattle. The name Seattle is an anglicisation of the modern Duwamish conventional spelling Si'ahl, equivalent to the modern Lushootseed spelling ''siʔaɫ'' . He is also known as Sealth, Seathle, Seathl, or See-ahth.{{Cite news, url=http://www.historylink.org/File/5071, title=Chief Seattle (Seattle, Chief Noah orn si?al, 178?–1866, access-date=2018-10-06

References

Bibliography

* H. L. Mencken, '' The American Language'', 2nd edition, 1921, Chapter X, part 2
full text
* H. L. Mencken, ''The American Language'', 4th edition, 1936, pp. 510–525. * H. L. Mencken, ''The American Language'', Supplement Two, 1948, pp. 516–525. Cultural assimilation and names English language