The name you used when you applied for your naturalization papers did not have to match the manifest at Ellis Island.

Planning to look into your family's history in 2025? Learn how to do online searches for Ellis Island passenger info, NYC vital records and more.

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 ...

There is a persistent story in a lot of American families that their last name was changed at Ellis Island, garbled by an agent who simply wrote it down incorrectly. Now, it’s possible that the ...

Our last names are a case in point. Horn explodes the old myth that Jews’ names were changed at Ellis Island by clerks too lazy or malevolent to spell them right. In public lectures and a 2014 essay, ...

No names were changed at Ellis Island, because no names were taken at Ellis Island. It is also highly unlikely that such comically inept communication would have ever taken place at Ellis Island.

No one lost their Jewish last name at Ellis Island. But we gained a safe haven. Dara Horn’s new book explodes a recurring myth about Jewish immigration and adaptation.

The Ellis Island Immigration Museum suffered the devastation of Hurricane Sandy firsthand. Now, more than two years after the storm struck New York City (and many other places), the building is ...