My Name

My last name is Julian. Well, actually it is my husband's name that I took when we were married. There had been some debate in his family about the name's origin -- where was it from and who brought it over?


Recently we found out the story. My husband's great-grandfather had immigrated from Sweden with the last name Larsson. When he arrived at Ellis Island, they told him something like "Oh no, we already have too many Larssons. From now on, why don't you go by...Mmmm...Julian."


That was the beginning of the Julian family. I'd heard stories of people having their names misspelled at Ellis Island, but a complete name change seemed a little strange. Why would the immigration clerk care? Well, now we all have a last name that many people comment on by asking "why do you have a first name for your last name?" Maybe it's time for another change?