Often our Polish ancestors changed their surnames or name changes were forced upon them by employers or schoolteachers.  Surnames were "americanized," letters were dropped or names were translated into English.

Here are some examples of common types of changes:

Americanization:  Letters dropped for "ease of pronunciation" - CZERNISZ TO CERN

Often, some "americanization" occurs while the rest of the name remains in tact ... in same name,
such as CZAJKOWSKI to CHAJKOWSKI

Polish pronunciation with the English alphabet: CZAJKOWSKI to CHAYKOFSKI

Truncation: Parts of the name were eliminated and anglicized - ADAMCZYK to ADAMS LUKASZEWICZ to LUKAS

Orthographic or phonetic adjustments due to Polish diacritical marks:
DABROWSKI to either DOMBROWSKI or DAMBROSKI
DRZAŁA to DRZATA  or  BIAŁEK to BIATEK

Translation: MŁYNARZ to MILLER  or  KRÓL to KING or  MYŚLIWIEC  to HUNTER  

Tenuous and vague resemblance to original name:  At times, only the first or first few letters were the same.  MOŚCICKI to MARSON    or    PROTOPOWICZ   to PRESCOTT

Totally "new" name: No linguistic, lexical or phonetic connection to the chosen name.       
ZIEZIULEWICZ to FOX    or    MALINOWSKI to HERMAN               

Special Note: It is a common myth that names were changed at Ellis Island by the immigration officials.  This is NOT TRUE! U.S. immigration officials usually worked from passenger lists that were initially created on board during the journey.  Furthermore, the names were written down from passports or other written documents.

Today one needs to go through official court proceedings to have one's name changed.  However, earlier in the last century, people often changed their own names without any official paperwork.  One day, the person simply started writing his or her name down differently.

We have created a database of changed surnames submitted to us by our members or taken from obituaries and gravestones.  If you have having difficulty finding information on your Polish ancestor, maybe you have been searching for the "wrong" name.

The database consists of the original surname, the changed surname and the location from which the information was taken.  If you know of any additional altered surnames, please send them to us with documentary evidence of the change.

                                         View the Changed Surname List