[David Myers]

There are at least three sources for the name: the German, the English, and the Hebrew. As you know, once people came to this country, their names became bolluxed up.

There is a famous story about a Polish Jew named Yankel Shatsky. Before he emigrated to America, Yankel was told by his friends to choose a more American-sounding name. His friends suggested James Davenport. On the ship across the Atlantic, Yankel repeated the name to himself over and over. But when he arrived at Ellis Island, when he was confronted by an immigration officer who demanded to know his name, Yankel blanked. "What is your name?" the officer bellowed. "I forget," Yankel whimpered in Yiddish--<i>ikh fergessen</i>. Naturally, his new American name became Ike Ferguson.