How do I deal with multiple name changes by my immigrant ancestors?

Research Spelling Variations to Find Your Ancestor

One of the most frequent questions I receive is "How do I deal with multiple name changes by my immigrant ancestors?" A changed name can become a barrier to finding your ancestor's immigrant origins.

To solve the name change or variation problem, let's look at tools for finding variations of the surname Zychick. We will use these tools to research spelling variations and to determine soundex codes. Many indexing systems used soundex codes for filing.

Let's go to the Generating Soundex Codes and Phonetic Tokens in One Step by Stephen P. Morse. This site will give you both the American and Daitch-Mokotoff soundex codes as well as phonetic equivalents. Here is the result for the surname Zychick. 

​How can I use the Soundex codes to find my ancestor?

First let's take a look at an example of a record group using the soundex code, the Index to New England Naturalization Petitions, 1791-1906 on Ancestry.com.  A search for Zychick returns fifty options. In the example below, you will see the Soundex code at the top, Z-220. In this case Zychick is spelled Zaichick. The card adds an original spelling of Zajczyk.

​To find your surname-challenged relative, look through the cards within the Soundex code, in this example Z-220. Look for identifying information, such as first name and/or place of naturalization. 

How will knowing phonetic equivalents help me search for my immigrant ancestor?

BIG TIP: Phonetic equivalents or spelling variations help you to search creatively and flexibly.

From the Soundex generator, we have several phonetic equivalents for Zychick including:

• zitSik
• zixik
• ziCik

plus the following two from just one naturalization index card. 

• Zaichick
• Zajczyk

Here are some more spelling variations (not an exhaustive list) from viewing the cards within the Z-220 group:

• Zajac
• Zajczik
• Zychczik
• Zychik
• Zacek
• Zeichick
• Zychice

Another good place to find spelling variations is the Consolidated Jewish Surname Index from the website, Avotyanu. This searches phonetic equivalents using the Daitch-Mokotoff Soundex System and results are alphabetical. While this index was created for Jewish surnames, I find that it works well with most surnames from Germany, Eastern Europe and Russia. For the name Zychick, the search returned four and half pages of results. 

Knowledge of your surname's spelling variations will help you to search creatively in the passenger and naturalization records to find your immigrant ancestor.

BIG TIP: Use the '*' asterisk search.

Let's get ready to search creatively with Zychick spelling variations. Create a list of potential surname beginnings and surname endings. Replace the beginning or ending of with an asterisk. 

• Zaic*, Zic*, Zaj*, Zyc*, Zeic*
• *zik, *sich, *sik, *cik, *czik, *check

Another possibility is to replace the middle of the name with an asterisk, ex. Z*ck, Zai*k, etc. Let's try a search of the Immigration & Travel collection on Ancestry. I am limiting the search by a birthplace of Russia because that is where the family originated. Try using other limiters, such as gender, nationality, or birth year.

Here is an entry for Nissel Stiegmann. It did not look like a variation of Zychick, but I clicked on it because it mentioned the place Tichen, Russia. Tichen was one of the associated places of interest.  

This gentleman not only changed his name, more than once, he used variations of his original surname. He was known as Yassel Zychick, Joe Zick, Nathan Steingold and Nissel Stiegmann. Talk about hard to find!

BIT TIP: Narrow the time frame.

One more practice search before we finish. The arrival documents for a group of Zychick family members, spelled the name Saitschik. This was difficult to find. Here is how I found the arrival record. In addition to searching with the asterisk and spelling variations, limiting the arrival time to the narrowest time period possible, limits the number of record results. The first search I did for *chik and the year 1913 to which I had narrowed the family's arrival time, resulted in over 900 matches.

BIT TIP: Limit the search.

Adding the race, Hebrew, limited the results to just 62 with the family found in the top ten. 

Today we have talked about what to do with the challenge of name variations. Here are my tips for breaking through that brick wall name and finding your ancestor in immigration and naturalization records. 

• Research your surname Soundex codes and spelling variations. 
• Use the '*' asterisk search. 
• Narrow your immigrant's window of arrival. 
• Limit your search.

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• Gary Mokotoff, "Soundexing and Genealogy,  Avotaynu   (http://www.avotaynu.com/soundex.htm : accessed 20 February 2017).
  
• Stephen P. Morse, "Generating Soundex Codes and Phonetic Tokens in One Step," One-Step Webpages by Stephen P. Morse (www.stevemorse.org : accessed 20 February 2017).
  
• National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington, D.C.; Index to New England Naturalization Petitions, 1791-1906 (M1299); Microfilm Serial: M1299; Microfilm Roll: 73; Zaichick, Sam, image 6443 of 9345.
  
• "Consolidated Jewish Surname Index," Avotaynu (www.avotaynu.com/csi/csi-home.htm : accessed 20 February 2017). 
  
• "Immigration & Travel," Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 20 February 2017).
• California, Federal Naturalization Records, 1843-1999, database on-line, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 20 February 2017), citing: National Archives at Riverside; Riverside, California; NAI Number: 618171; Record Group Title: 21; Record Group Number: Records of District Courts of the United States, 1685-2009.