That often happened to Italian immigrants who came here. I know a guy named Rocco Sapareto. He got his surname when his great grandfather came to Ellis Island. He had picked up a few words of English before he came, and when the customs agent asked him if he was married he tried to say he and his wife were "Seperated." He kept repeating that word, and eventually the agent just gave him the name "Separeto" and the family kept it.