how inaccurate are the ethnic figures from the US Census?

[manu]

I suspect the ethnic and ancestry figures from the US census bureau are inaccurate because if you check the most common family names list you can see is totally british/irish dominated. unless millions of people anglicized their names there is something that doesn't turn out right.

[Bobcat Fraser]

unless millions of people anglicized their names there is something that doesn't turn out right.

You answered your own question. Some of my "English" forebears turned out to be German.

[carol]

When my mother's family came over to Ellis Island, they actually changed the spelling of our name- van Vliet became Van Vleet. If you did not speak english well, and correct them, the names were sometimes spelled phonetically.

[Bobcat Fraser]

When my mother's family came over to Ellis Island, they actually changed the spelling of our name- van Vliet became Van Vleet. If you did not speak english well, and correct them, the names were sometimes spelled phonetically.

Census-takers and record-keepers sometimes changed Irish surnames too. They changed at least four of my ancestors' last names, and all of them came from various parts of Ireland! They removed and/or replaced letters in my forebears' surnames. When it comes to genealogy, it's best to drop most assumptions.

[leisitox]

They count jews as white! :D

[Bobcat Fraser]

They count jews as white! :D

They come in all colors. My Jewish forebears were purple.

[Balmung]

Names were often Americanized by immigration clerks, the county clerk, census takers and on tax records by people who thought it was proper to do so or who were just incapable of catching non-English sounds

^ This was done for everyone from Germans, Scandinavians, Irish, and many other non white European immigrants.

I think no American census can show a real accurate representation anymore. What they can show, is what group dominates most in which area. However, even then its not fully accurate. We're talking about a nation with hundreds of people intermixing. I don't think typical Caucasian Americans care to ask another Caucasian American what kind of white they are before they do their buisness.

[Transmontano]

Yes it was very common to anglicize last names. EG. Italians would change Giovanni to John and Portuguese would change Pereira to Perry, etc.