Conference taveng::bagels

    	My paternal grandfather's last name was Auerbach. I am related
    to Red Auerbach of the Boston Celtics Basketball Club. My Grandmother
    got divorced in Russia and in order for the whole family to leave
    Russia she took her maiden name and had my father also take her
    maiden name. All of my great grandparents children and their children
    came over with my great grandparents name of Polikoff. Since the
    quota for Russian Jews was filled they had to go to Cuba for a few
    years and then they came to Boston.
    
    	Polikoff means 'From Poland' and 'From The Fields'. I
    prefer the latter.

    Hmmm... actually, I have been trying to figure this out for years.

    My mothers maiden name is Dreifach and my Father's side
    is really Mahler.

    re .0
     
    "Marlmelstein" is definitely not Hungarian. I *think* Meszaros
    is the approximate Hungarian equivalent of Mason.  Will check
    tonight.  Are you sure the name wasn't "Marmelstein"?  It's a 
    German name, anyway.   Many Eastern European Jewish last names
    are not terribly old or meaningful.  In the Austro-Hungarian empire
    (which covered alot of ground including part of Jewish Poland, Romania, Cszecho.,
    etc.) Jews were required to take last names in (I believe) the
    late 18th c.  There was a tax, or fee, associated with this, and
    'good' names went for more money than 'ugly' names.
    
    Many Hungarian Jews have German last names.  The names in my family are
    Rosenbluh and Frisch, both 100% German, although both sides of my
    family come from Hungary.
    
    There is an excellent book on Jewish names called "From Generation
    to Generation", by ____ Kurzweil (can't remmeber his first name),
    avail. in paperback.
    
    So before you get overly nostalgic for the name that was stolen
    from you by some ignorant immigration agent at Ellis Island, remember
    that it might not have been in your family for too long before
    Ellis Island, and that last names were often fairly changeable and
    fluid from generation to generation during the 17-19th c. in Europe.
    
    Also, according to Kurzweil, the stories about names getting changed
    at Ellis Island because the recording officer didn't understand
    what the immigrant was saying, are mostly apocryphal.  They had
    Yiddish-speaking officers during the years of mass Jewish immigration.
    Names WERE changed, but usually because the immigrant wanted something
    more American-sounding.  Considering that they may not have felt
    great cultural attachment to their Old-world last names, that's
    not necessarily regrettable, or surprising.   
    

    Re: .3
    
    I don't believe it...I spelled Marmelstein wrong twice!  Thanks
    for the info...
    
    I guess I'd better stick to Mason...it's easier to spell
    
    blushingly ****andrea****
    

    Our last name used to be Goldhammer, before my parents shortened
    it in the fifties. I think it is a fairly uncommon name, but
    unfortuneately I don't know where it came from.
    
    My mother's maiden name is Einhorn.
    
    
    Jack

    You are right about the Yiddish speaking immigration officers which
    led to an interesting event in New York City Politics.  A Jew was
    running against Fiorello LaGuadia (sp?) and was portraying himself
    as being better for the Jews.  He challanged LaGuardia (sp?) to
    a debate.  LaGuardia accpted with the stipualition that the debate
    be held in Yiddish.  The Jew declined because he didn't speak Yiddish
    fluently enough to debate while LaGuardia was extremely fluent in
    it from working as an immigration officer on Ellis Island.  

    re:.6
    
    Fiorello LaGuardia was half-Jewish(a fact).
    
    David

    My last name is Chasen.  As I understand it, my family in Russia
    had no last name.  I recall my father telling me that my last name
    was chosen when the family was preparing to emigrate to America
    in the early 1900's.  However, vagaries about that, plus mention
    earlier in this topic of the requirement that jews select a last
    name in Russia in the late 1800's, make me suspicious that my last
    name might have been chosen earlier.
    
    In any event, the story goes that my grandmother(?) (great-
    grandmother?) had the last name of Steinberg.  My grandfather(?)
    decided that 'he would not take a woman's name', and instead took
    the name of Chazan after his father who was one.  Chazan was
    transliterated to Chasin by my grandfather at Ellis Island.
    My father decided to change the spelling to Chasen, for reasons
    probably forever unknown to me.  The whole family (previous generation)
    seems incredibly cavalier about the spelling of the name.  For example,
    when my Uncle Aaron passed away, his tombstone was inscribed 'Chasen'
    even though he spelled his name 'Chasin' during his life.

    Re 158.4 - Andy, is that you?
    
    Harris.
    

Just an idea:

We can use this note (and its replies) to attempt finding possible
relationships between people, based on origin of last names.

"Cohen" is not a good example. "Goldberg", "Levi" etc. are also not good
examples, (too popular) but if one of your parents (or on of their parents
and so on) had a last name of "Kirshenboim" and lived in Poland and/or
Slovakia in the beginning of the century --- he might be a relative of mine...

What you try to do is give as many last names of parents, associated with
place and time, if known...

???
Nitsan

    Father's side:  Mahler, most likely from Austria.
    Mother's side:  Dreifach, I think from Russia.

    Father's side is Goldhammer, a Levi, from the Polish-Russian border
    ( switched from Poland to Russia to Poland several times. The actual
    town is now in Russia).
    
    Mother's side is Einhorn, from Rumania (actually Transylvania).

    I have one known relative (and her descendants) on my fathers side,
    a niece.
    
    There are two relatives on my mother's side, both brothers (and
    Rabbi's), one in Chicago and one in Rehovot.

re: .0,.4,.8

Harris... good guess.

Andrea... hello, lantsman (sp?).  My grandfather, who moved from Hungary
to the Bronx, changed Mermelstein to Mermell.  I met a Jefferey Mermelstein
in college but we could determine no common relatives.  I always thought it was
a pretty rare name.

My grandfather came from a town called something like Maramos Sziget.
It's near the Romanian border and I tried to visit it the first time I
was in Europe.  Unfortunately I planned my itinerary based on the 
freeways in Belgium.  When I got to Hungary the roads were so poor I 
couldn't travel half as fast, and I ran out of time in Budapest.  Still
a very interesting experience.

By the way, I was told that Elie Wiesel came from this town too.

Mother's mother side: Bourshtein, from Bialistok, Poland.
Mother's father side: Klatchko, I think from Russia/Poland.
Father's mother side: Majorovich (currently have relatives in Belgium).
Father's father side: Kirshenboym, from Michalovtsa, Chekoslovakia, and before
                                                                    from Poland.
Nitsan

	Mother's side: Flatow,  from Poland
        Father's side: Amkraut, from Galizia (Poland/Russia)
    
    When my mother was 16 and my aunt was 6 they attemped
    to emigrate to the US.
    Immigration was closed at the time so they went to Canada.
    They were told to contact a man who, for a fee, would row
    them across to the US. They did and in the middle of the
    night they came to their Land of Liberty.
    
    My father came here with his whole family. My father and his
    brother had payus.  When they neared Ellis Island, my grandmother
    cut them off.
    
    

    re: .12
    
    My mother is from a town very near to Sighet in Romania. Maybe we
    are long lost relatives?
    
    Jack
    

    
    On my father's side we have HART and GORDON from somewhere in Russia
    On my mom's immediate side we have POLLACK and EMALOFSKY(sp?). 
    I think they are from England and Holland.  Further up the tree
    my mom has HARTs and GORDONs.  It's quite a coindcidence but I don't
    think any of them are related.
    
    aud...
    

    My father's father was from Romania and his last name was Negre
    (Negray??) which means black or more likely blacksmith.  The name
    was changed to Schwartz which carries essentially the same meaning
    except easier to pronounce (?).
    
    Lauren

This is fun!  Re: Marmelstein - every hear the song B. Streisand sings called
Miss Marmelstein?  From some show, I think...

Paternal grandmother - Mendelsohn, from Russia via England
Paternal grandfather - Waks here, Vechen (?) there, from Russia
Maternal grandmother - Sherman, from Russia/Poland?

Paternal grandfather is the one I know the most details about; he talks about
the "old country" more and more now that he's over 90 (though sharp as a tack!)
Name now is Sherter, but it was Shecter in Kreminitz, Poland -  don't know how
or by whom it got changed...

OOPS!  Didn't realized this note was amost 3 years old when I replied to it;
was just taking a look at some older stuff and got carried away...is that
bad notes etiquette?

Waky

<Name now is Sherter, but it was Shecter in Kreminitz, Poland -  don't know how
<or by whom it got changed...

We have Schechters in our family (from Skalat, Poland, I think), as is
my father, a Gelber.  

My mother is a Gewing from Austria.  

Edie