reaganesque

1. There is really NO SUCH THING as 'proper spelling' of an Arabic name in English. After all, we're dealing with two completely different alphabets. So, the translation of one name to another is completely subjective. A Abdallah family may very well be related to an Abdella or Abdullah family; a Hanna family to a Hanah family; a Maloof to a Malouf family. Keep this in mind when searching for relatives, censuses, and immigration records. Just because your name is Dib doesn't mean you should discard the Diebs at Ellis Island. What should be done: write down every spelling variant of a name that you can imagine on a piece of paper and try them, when you have time, one by one. Of course, this applies to place names as well. Beirut = Beyrouth = Beyrute etc.

2. Often, names come about as a result of conventional translation. As such, do some research on common translations of Arabic names. For instance, Peter is a translation of Boutros. So, if your grandfather’s name was Peter, he may be listed as Boutros in his immigration records (or vice versa). Now here’s the real kicker: depending on the port from which he travelled, he could be listed as a translation of Peter in any number of languages. If he came through Greece, it may have been written as Petros; if France, it could be Pierre. This is equally true of last names. For instance, the common name Hanna means John in Arabic. But in many other languages, John is translated as Johannes or Youness. My great great grandfather Zacharias Hanna even had his translated as Henes somehow. Believe it or not, they all mean the same thing.

3. Sometimes, the translation of a name is not even a real translation. My great uncle Mustafa Abdella, for instance, became Michael/Mike. It’s not a formal translation but he probably thought it was close enough. After all, who wanted to walk around the streets of St. Paul Minnesota in the 1900s with a name like Mustafa? The same is true of my great aunt’s husband, Abdellah Bejan. He went by Albert. The two are not actual translations of each other, but Albert’s about the closest American name to Abdellah. In this instance, for something like immigration records, searching Ellis Island by first initial only can be helpful. You can also get a little creative with it. Put yourself in their shoes and think, ‘If I had a name like Muhammed, what’s the simplest change I could make to it in order to fit in or make it easier for people to pronounce?’

4. Have you ever noticed that a lot of Syrian/Lebanese people have last names that could just as easily be first names (i.e. Thomas, Hanna, Abdulla, Joseph)? That’s because they often WERE. Generally, upon arrival, a person took his father’s first name as his last. The survival of family names was actually very rare. Of course, there are exceptions. For instance, the name Malouf is likely to be a family name. But if you have a name like Thomas (or a translation thereof), you must be open to the idea—perhaps even assume—that Thomas was just the name of your great grandpa or whoever’s father. This can be extremely frustrating because it diminishes your chances of ever finding out if you’re related to another Thomas family. After all, how many people have named their kid Thomas? But there is some consolation—that is, the distinct naming system among the Syrian/Lebanese.

5. Repetition of Syrian/Lebanese names is common, and will help you in your research. Most often (but not always), a man gave his oldest son the name of his paternal grandfather. That child would often have his father’s name as a MIDDLE name. For instance, my great great grandfather Zacharias John Hanna named his eldest son John. We can infer that Zacharias’ father’s name was John (which I’ve confirmed) based on three things: a) Zacharias’ middle name was John b) He named his eldest son John c) His last name was Hanna, a translation of John. So what was Zacharias’ father’s last name? Well, if he was the eldest, it may very well have been Zacharias. Why? He would likely be named after his grandfather, whose name his FATHER (John) likely would have taken as a last name, just like he did. I know it’s confusing. And there are many weird exceptions. But you get the hang of it quickly.