The United States, as many like to point out, is a nation of immigrants. For people interested in learning more about their family history, a journey over an ocean or across a river can both pose a challenge when it comes to finding ancestors and provide a rewarding source of stories about overcoming adversity.
The Ancestry Family Facts page provides information on the meaning and origin of family surnames — including immigrant surnames — but it’s also an easy-to-access launch pad for learning more about your family’s immigration history.
Irish Immigrants
The Irish made up a significant portion of the Colonial population in the U.S., but more tragic circumstances triggered a second wave of Irish immigration to this country. Starting in 1845, potato blight in Ireland led to a collapse of the country’s primary food crop.
Subsequent crop failures eventually led to 1 million deaths from starvation and an equal number of emigrants who left the island, both staggering numbers when you consider that Ireland’s population in 1841 was only 8.2 million. Between 1820 and 1860, 4.5 million Irish arrived in America, making up over a third of all immigrants.
The most common Irish surname today is Murphy, a name whose familiarity belies its exciting origins: According to the Ancestry Family Facts page, the name derives from the Gaelic words for “sea-warrior.” Ancestry is home to 8,955,602 historical documents related to the name Murphy, including 459,880 immigration and travel documents. Those include ship passenger data, immigration entry lists, and naturalization records.
The Germans
From 1881 to 1885, 1 to 1.5 million Germans arrived in the United States. In 1882 alone, about 250,000, arrived, the highest single-year total. By 1890, about 2.8 million German-born immigrants lived in the U.S., the majority of them living in or around the so-called “German triangle” of Cincinnati, Milwaukee, and St. Louis. By 1894, German-Americans were publishing about 800 newspapers and magazines in their native language.
According to the Ancestry Family Facts page, the most common German name is Mueller, an occupational name referring to the operator of a mill. You can find 2,742,543 historical documents related to Mueller, including 773,121 immigration records, on Ancestry.
From Italy — and Back Again
Italian immigration peaked in the United States between 1911 and 1920. By 1920, more than 4 million Italian immigrants had entered the United States. The majority of them were poor peasant farmers from southern Italy. About a million of them, finding life in American cities too much to bear or because they came only temporarily to work, actually returned to Italy.
The most common Italian surname today is Rossi, a name mean “from Rosso.” Rosso, in turn, is a descriptive name for an individual with red hair or a ruddy complexion. The Family Facts Page indicates that that site has 334,855 historical documents relevant to the name Rossi alone, with 329,866 immigration records.
By 1960, Italians, at 13 percent, and Germans, at 10 percent, made up the largest groups of foreign-born residents in the United States. Today, however, Mexican-born residents make up the largest percentage of foreign-born residents. In 2013, 28 percent of the 41.3 million foreign-born residents of the United States had come from Mexico. Garcia is the most common Hispanic surname in the U.S. today, a name possibly derived from the Basque term for bear. And Ancestry houses a staggering 15,432,929 historical documents for Garcia, including 516,497 immigration and travel records.
So you can follow the journey of your own immigrant ancestors — without even leaving home.
— Sandie Angulo Chen