World migrations have taken place since the dawn of recorded history. In modern times, sources document these individual migrations. When a person moved from one country to another, the migrant’s first name (aka given name, Christian name, forename) was often translated. Hence, an immigrant went by different first names in his/her home country than in their new country of settlement. What resources are available to unscramble names and determine an immigrant’s name at birth?. . .
Some translations of first names are well known. “Maria” is the Spanish equivalent of “Mary” in English. Other translations are less obvious. Italian names often undergo dramatic changes. Take “John” in English and “Giovanni” in Italian for example.
One of my favorite books on the International Floor of the Family History Library is a rare book titled Słownik Imion. Published in Wroclaw, Poland in 1975, the author translates hundreds of given names across 24 European languages.
Let’s take a look at the English “William” as an example. Follow the changes this name takes when used in different languages; Latin Gulielmus, Spanish Guillermo, Romanian Gulielm, English William, Dutch Wilhelm, Serbo-Croatian Vilim, Belorussian Vil’hel’m, Lithuanian Wilhelmas, Slovak Viliam, Bulgarian Vilchelm, Macedonian Vilim, Slovene Viljem, Czech Vilém, German Wilhelm, Swedish Vilhelm, Danish Wilhelm, Norwegian Wilhelm, Ukrainian Vil’hel’m, Finnish Vilho, Portuguese Guilhermo, Hungarian Vilmos, French Guillaume, Russian Vil’gel’m, Italian Guglielmo.
The following sites offer researchers a valuable way to find and use the different variations of immigrant's names before or after they immigrated. Hint: Save this information so that you will have these sites when the need occurs.
Online first name translators
First name translators are available online for many languages. Here are some I’m familiar with:
Thanks to Nathan Murphy of FamilySearch for another valuable article.
One of my favorite books on the International Floor of the Family History Library is a rare book titled Słownik Imion. Published in Wroclaw, Poland in 1975, the author translates hundreds of given names across 24 European languages.
Let’s take a look at the English “William” as an example. Follow the changes this name takes when used in different languages; Latin Gulielmus, Spanish Guillermo, Romanian Gulielm, English William, Dutch Wilhelm, Serbo-Croatian Vilim, Belorussian Vil’hel’m, Lithuanian Wilhelmas, Slovak Viliam, Bulgarian Vilchelm, Macedonian Vilim, Slovene Viljem, Czech Vilém, German Wilhelm, Swedish Vilhelm, Danish Wilhelm, Norwegian Wilhelm, Ukrainian Vil’hel’m, Finnish Vilho, Portuguese Guilhermo, Hungarian Vilmos, French Guillaume, Russian Vil’gel’m, Italian Guglielmo.
The following sites offer researchers a valuable way to find and use the different variations of immigrant's names before or after they immigrated. Hint: Save this information so that you will have these sites when the need occurs.
Online first name translators
First name translators are available online for many languages. Here are some I’m familiar with:
- English to dozens of languages at Behind the Name.com
- English to Hebrew, Yiddish, Russian, Greek, Japanese, and Arabic at One-Step Webpages by Stephen P. Morse
- English to dozens of languages at Namepedia.org
- English to Italian and Greek at D’Addezio.com
- English to Latin, Polish, and German at Polish Genealogical Society of America website
- Jewish Name Variations at Ancestry.com
Thanks to Nathan Murphy of FamilySearch for another valuable article.