Why would my ancestors change their surname?

Question

I'm thinking my family made a possible surname change. My last name is "Lyman" and I'm German, but I only find "Lyman" as an English surname.

Variations on the name could be:

Leyman, Leimann, Liemann, Lehmann

What I'm confused about is what the motive would be to Anglicize it around the early 1800s? (PS they lived in Wisconsin and they were Catholic if that means anything haha)

Answer 1

Names were changed for several reasons. Some were just misspelled on legal papers. Some were changed to fit in with the community, Some were changed to an easier spelling. This was common when immigrating.

Answer 2

http://surname.behindthename.com

Lehmann  

Usage: German

Extra: Statistics  

From Midle High German lehenman "vassal, liege man

Leyman, Leimann,&  Liemann are all similar to Lehmann.

www.ancestry.com

Leyman Name Meaning

English: variant of Layman.

Layman Name Meaning :

English: topographic name for someone who lived near a meadow, pasture, or patch of (fallow) arable land, Middle English leye.

Americanized spelling of German Lehmann.

German: variant of Lay 3.

Lehmann Name :

German: status name for a feudal tenant or vassal, Middle High German leheman, lenman (from lehen ‘to hold land as a feudal tenant’ + man ‘man’). The tenant held land on loan for the duration of his life in return for rent or service, but was not free to transfer or divide it.

Jewish (western Ashkenazic): from an identical Jewish personal name of uncertain origin, perhaps related to Leo 3.

So, I would assume if they immigrated from Germany (or even Austria where German is spoken), they wanted their name to sound more "American." Most immigrants did that when they came over here from Europe, thinking  they would "fit in" with society better.

Answer 3

Many immigrants arrived in America with little knowledge of English and when they gave their name verbally upon arrival, it was written down by the clerk as they heard it, and then they accepted it as the"official"  American spelling of the name.

Another common reason is that immigrants were often advised by employers or relatives who arrived earlier to take an easier name and avoid having to alway spell it for everyone.  They usually wanted to become American as fast as possible so they changed their style of clothes and adopted a American name.

One way to determine if or when your ancestor's changed their name is by searching immigratrion, naturalization, census, etc. records then trace them back to Germany.

Here are some examples of search results for Lymans from Germany  in ancestry.com

1850 US Census shows 42 people in the US born in Germany (5 in WI - see below) with he surname Lyman; and  17 Leymans, 0 Leimanns, 0 Liemanns (but 6 Liemans),  and 47 Lehmanns.  

1850 US CENSUS (people born in Germany living in Wisonsin)

- Sheboygan Falls, Sheboygan, WI

Archibald Lyman born abt 1804

Catharine Lyman born abt 1812

Dedrick Lyman born abt 1802

Maria Lyman born born abt 1843

- Greenfield, Milwaukee, WI

William Lyman Greenfield born abt 1810

1860 US CENSUS  (people born in Germany living in Wisonsin)

Name, Location, approx. birth year)

William Lyman Medina, Dane, WI 1828

Charles Lyman Ripon, Fond Du Lac, WI 1824

Caroline Lyman Ripon, Fond Du Lac, WI 1824

Ludwick Lyman Brooklyn, Green Lake, WI 1826

Augusta Lyman Brooklyn, Green Lake, WI 1832

William Lyman Pewaukee, Waukesha, WI 1838

When I did a basic search for immigration records, there were 114 immigration records (Germany departure) for the surname Lyman; and 17 for Leyman, 88 for Leimann, 48 for Liemann and 5,226 for Lehmann.

If you are interested in someone searching to find ancestors, you could edit your question and provide any details (birth/death year, city/county in WI)  for relatives who are  deceased or born before 1930.  I'll check back :-)

Answer 4

It may not have been a deliberate change.  Just in doing research on my own family, I have found names to be different on the various census records.  The people taking the information quite often spelled names, both given and surnames, the way they sounded, not the way the person spelled it.  Also, there were some people who didn't even know how to spell their own name, so they just accepted whatever spelling others used.

Answer 5

Both immigration officials and census takers often used phonetic spellings of both given names and surnames well into the 19th century.  Since both groups probably had very little formal education, sometimes a variation of a last name stuck.   Sometimes the immigrants themselves adapted an "Americanized" version of their surname.

Also, occasionally, a name would be spelled several ways in its original form; to use some Irish and Scottish examples (from my own family tree)*; Doherty, Dougherty, and Daugherty are all the same name; McDonald, MacDonald, McConnell, and Donaldson are all variations of McDonald, Macquarrie, McQuerry, McQuery, McCrary, and McGuire are all variations of the same surname.

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*Sorry, I don't have any German examples.

Answer 6

It is probably the way their name was registered back in the 1800's.  It was probably spelt your way, but the person writing it out didn't know the exact spelling so guessed, and it stuck.

It is the same with my surname Gormack, there are so many variations, I have Gormock, Gormick, Cormick, Cormack.  My Ancestors came from Scotland but I am finding it hard to trace them there.

Are you a member of Ancestry.com.au? if not join up, it will give you great information.  

If not let me know and I will trace your family for you.

Good Luck