Name change?

[ckelly327]

My last name is Kelly. My great aunts spelled it Kelley but their brothers dropped the second "e". The first off the boat were O' Kelley but then the "O" was lost upun entry into the US. The official spelling of the family name in Ireland was O'Calleigh. My maternal grandmother's family was named Corden in the US. We have good reason to believe that they were more like Gordon in Ireland and the Corden came from the misunderstanding of the brogue when they made it to the states.

It's all part of my family history and things that I am proud of but it is definitely history and not what I am today. Keep your name and be proud of it. There's no reason to be ashamed of Anglicised names - they are all a part of our history.

[Woodsheal]

Just wondering: could "O'Longaich" be an Irish-ised version of the very English-sounding name "Long" (or "Lang" in northern England/lowland Scotland). Perhaps with "Long" you're actually using the original version of your family's name!
Lots of English settled in Ireland centuries ago and "went native." My Irish ancestors were named "Ford", also an English name originally....

[McClef]

Well it has to be what you will feel most comfortable with Gregory.

I don't know how difficult it is to do an official change in the US, over here it can be done by deed poll but it doesn't change details on a birth certificate.

I have problems with one simple letter. Some systems have me as Trefor and others as Trevor and the ones that have the v say they can't change it. All because a a registrar couldn't do Welsh spelling and he had a Welsh name himself!

[ccga3359]

Well it has to be what you will feel most comfortable with Gregory.

I don't know how difficult it is to do an official change in the US, over here it can be done by deed poll but it doesn't change details on a birth certificate.

I have problems with one simple letter. Some systems have me as Trefor and others as Trevor and the ones that have the v say they can't change it. All because a a registrar couldn't do Welsh spelling and he had a Welsh name himself!

If you had a real welsh name it would consist of 38 letters only 3 of which vowels.

[Mike1]

I belong to some controversial groups that deal with politics overseas. I guess what I am trying to get at is that I want to honor the trials and tribulations my ancestors have been though.

I can very definitely relate to what you are saying. I have some of those same types of connections to organizations in Scotland. I cannot comment further as it would violate the forum policy on political discussion. Suffice it to say there have been times I have had to remind myself of the political issues evolving right here in the U.S., because I was so focused on what was happening in Scotland.

I see my own involvement with some of these groups as how I honor those that came before me. I know what my forebears went through, here in this "new world" and I also know why they had to come here and go through it.
But the name on my passport and driver's license has nothing to do with the pride for my heritage burning inside me. It's what I am able to do for Scotland's cause that is important, not the name I am known by.

Think of all the effort and dollars the name change would require and devote those resources to what is truly important in your life. THAT is what will help make a difference and honor your forebears.

Thig ar latha!

[bikercelt1]

My brother chose to change his name. He did this for reasons that were deeply meaningful to him if a bit hazy to the rest of us. He chose to use a name that, while fictional, reflected what he understood of our family history and heritage. It caused great consternation and distress among many of the family members. Most of the family never embraced his new name and a few would never even acknowledge it.

I suggest you use Colins suggestion or find some other creative way to use your family name. If you really feel that you want to persue this name change at least try to get the buy-in from your family members before you do it. It will make life much much simpler.

Jamie

[beloitpiper]

Better yet, keep the new one, get a tattoo with the old spelling

I like this idea. I like it a lot.

I was already thinking of a tatoo that says "American Born, Celtic Always" but I may add my old name to it....

[gilmore]

It would go from English "Long" back to the Irish "Ó Longaigh".

It would be a big change. I was wondering if I could get your opinions or thoughts on the subject? Thanks.

It depends on how invested you are in spending the rest of your life explaining to reservations clerks, maitre d's, bored semi-literate form-filling government clerical workers, etc. the difference between an accent grave and an accent acute, exactly which letter in your name it should go over and why, why there is no apostrophe in it, and which letters are not pronounced. It will be something that you will encounter almost daily, often several times a day.

My surname is unusual but similar to one that is common. Those of us who were born with it have gotten used to having to exert some effort in getting it spelled correctly, in judging almost immediately whether it is worth the effort, and we all have our various methods.

Interesting, the women who marry into our family and take the name are initially quite irked at having to go through all of this, but most adjust. Some don't, even after using it for 60+ years.

Another thing to remember is that the correct spelling of any words is a rather recent development, dating back only to the coming of dictionaries in the early 19th century. Before then everyone spelled words they way they sounded to them with few rules.

(I have a document---a deed of land of one of my ancestors---from the 1750's with the signature spelled the way we do now, spelled differently by the clerk who wrote, and spelled a 3rd way by the person who indexed it. Who was correct? All of them, and none of them. It wasn't an issue.)

Look on the bright side. Things could be worse. You could be of English descent and named Chumly.

[McClef]

If you had a real welsh name it would consist of 38 letters only 3 of which vowels.

How droll!

But it is not only real, it's the original version - "Trefor" is Welsh for "homestead" and there is a village in North Wales near Caernarfon named after me!

Trevor is simply the bastardised English spelling!

Look on the bright side. Things could be worse. You could be of English descent and named Chumly.

Which is of course spelt Cholmondleigh just as Fanshaw is spelt Featherstonehaugh.

And people think that Welsh spelling is strange!

[GMan]

Do what you feel most comfortable with, just remember that it will be a life long commitment, and that your own family (present and future) may not be as understanding.