Milwaukee County Court-ordered Name Changes, 1871-1977

It is best to view this table on a computer with the internet window enlarged to fill the entire screen. Due to the large amount of data, using a mobile device is not recommended for users.

Use the search bar to look up an individual’s name, date of filing, or file number. It does not matter what order you enter a name (e.g., First Middle Last, Last First, etc.). This database does not use letter accents, so ensure there are no accents in your search query.

You can also sort the table in ascending or descending order based on any of the data columns. To restore the table to its original order simply press the given column until neither of the arrows are highlighted.

Additionally, due to blemishes in the microfilm, some names were not entered accurately. For more information, expand the Key section below.  

The table is organized by volume number, file number, name before change, name after change, date of filing, type of order, and additional archival information.

Volume Number: It is inferred that the numbers refer to volume and page numbers of other ledgers. The first number being the volume number and the second being the page number.

File Number: File number associated with the record. Multiple names can be under the same file number.

Name Before Change: This section is organized by last name, first name, middle name, and suffix/prefix. Most records only have a middle initial listed, so when querying use only an individual’s middle initial for best results.

Name After Change: This section is organized by last name, first name, middle name, and suffix/prefix. Most records only have a middle initial listed, so when querying use only an individual’s middle initial for best results.

Date of Filing: Dates are formatted as MM/DD/YYYY, if a date was illegible this section of the table was left blank and you should check the archive notes section.

Type of Order: Abbreviations are as follows:

CN = Court Order Changing Name

MC = Court Order Correcting Marriage

EBD = Court Order Establishing Date and Place of Birth

It is common for name changes with the EBD court order to have no name after change.

Additional Archival Information: This section of the database holds any additional information about a given record, such as additional associated names and archive notes

Blank Cell: it means that there was no data in the ledger.

Brackets: If brackets are present, it means the data transcriber was unable to confidently transcribe the data and this is their best interpretation. If the data is completely illegible, “[Illegible]” was written. Sometimes a mixture of brackets, illegible, brackets, and letters outside of brackets were used to indicate varying legibility of the data (e.g., [G]ri[Illegible]).