after life or not is, of course, debatable, but a Palenka (whiskey), who was nicknamed “Hooch” by the younger American-Bohemian generation in his community, decided rapidly to call himself Hooker, while a Nohata, associating nohavice (trousers-legs) with the American-Bohemian word for pants (pence), eventually changed his name to Pence (English plural of penny). I have already observed that Lakota has become Lucky, so it is small wonder that the fellow students of a John Laketek should dub him “Lucky”. Similarly, “Berries” is an appropriate nickname for Baresh, which as I have said, has actually become Berry in this country. Kuba (the Czech nickname for the given name Jacob) was, by a family so surnamed, changed to Jacobs. They probably got tired of hearing themselves called “Kewpies”.
Among the Czechs immigrating to the United States are many with German or other foreign names, either wholly so or partially Bohemianized: Nagl, Najdl, Najmajer, Maršík, Kraupats, Henal, Heindl, Francl, Krejdl, Lachman, Šperl, Šnabl, Schnejbl, Stancl. For these there exist such Americanizations as Nagle, Newmayer, March (Marsh, Marshall), Corbett, Hensley, Henry, France, Cradle (Crandall), Lakeman, Pearl, Snable (Schneyble, Schnable), and Stansel or Stencil. Hoffmeister becomes either Hoffmaster or Hoffman (Huffman). Hoffman, by the way, is the only substitute I have yet discovered for Dvořák. Kougl may be German (cf. Kugel) or from the native, colloquial koukl, koukal (verb koukati), or, again, from the noun koukol, tares. It has been Americanized as Cowgill. Migl I assume to be German; it might, however, be from the native miknouti (mikl being colloquially the third person singular of the past tense). Miggle, as an American substitute, did not particularly appeal to the bearer, who changed to Mitchell. Jošta does not seem to be a native Czech name; it has become, in America, Yost. Hálek, a native name, of which I have seen the peculiar spelling Halq, savoring of Albanian or Turkish, in Bohemian papers, becomes Hall. Bažant (pheasant; a loan word) becomes variously Pezant, Bezant and Paysant, all accented on the last syllable. Fuxa (Fuksa) is another non-Czech name, possibly the German Fuchs. I noted three years ago an inexplicable—for at Bohemian—Fuqua, which had been Americanized as Fox. Thomas Čapek, in his “Čechs in America”, mentions a Vondráček who called himself Von Drack. The Von might lead one to suppose that the original surname was Teutonic; however, there is the native Czech ondrák, diminutive ondráček, (from ondati, to bother), and any one familiar
