Dear Genners,

I received an astonishing number of insightful (and funny) replies to my
query. There are so many I can't thank you all individually!

The consensus was that it was quite common that immigrants and their
children "americanized" the names of their relatives who never came to the
United States, because our ancestors were thinking in English, and were
eager to assimilate.

I thank all of you who responded.

Sincerely,
Denise Azbill
Las Vegas