Our images of name changing are frequently clichés: movie stars who adopted new names or Ellis Island officials who changed immigrants’ names. Kirsten Fermaglich upends these cliches by examining previously unexplored name change petitions. In 20th-century New York City, thousands of ordinary Jews legally changed their names to respond to institutionalized antisemitism. While name changing allowed Jewish families to achieve middle-class status, the practice also became a source of family pain and community stigma.
About our presenter:
Kirsten Fermaglich is professor of history and Jewish studies at Michigan State University. Her most recent book, “A Rosenberg by Any Other Name: A History of Jewish Name Changing in America” (New York University Press, 2018) was awarded the Saul Viener Book Prize by the American Jewish Historical Society in June 2019. From January 2022 through June 2023, she served as a National Archives Distinguished Fellow, tasked with studying antisemitism in the United States federal government. Fermaglich is also the author of “American Dreams and Nazi Nightmares: Early Holocaust Consciousness and Liberal America, 1957-1965” (Brandeis University Press, 2006) and the co-editor of the Norton Critical Edition of “Betty Friedan, The Feminine Mystique” (2013), with Lisa Fine. From 2016 through 2021, she was co-editor of the journal American Jewish History, along with Daniel Soyer and Adam Mendelsohn. She currently serves on the board of the Association for Jewish Studies.
This series is made possible by a grant from the Congregation Ahabat Shalom Religious Fund.
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