Is It Really a Name Change?

A poster to a list indicated that her European ancestor’s first name was changed from Andreas to Andrew when he immigrated to the United States.

Two things come to mind. His name really wasn’t “changed.” It was translated. Andreas is Latin and Andrew is English.

The second is that if his name changed, it likely was when he naturalized, not when he landed. Changings at landings were rare–your paperwork had to match or there could be issues, especially in the mid-19th century and after.