The use of first names and nicknames among immigrants can provide interesting insight into the negotiation of identity in multiple, co–existing (and often competing) spheres, such as familial, communal, ethnic, and national. The first and second generations of Russian Old Believers in Erie, Pennsylvania, developed an intricate system of assigning and using first names and nicknames. This investigation examines 1) the system of assigning names and nicknames, 2) the functions of these names, and 3) changing trends in their formation and use. Analysis draws upon a variety of sources, including observed current usage, personal interviews, family stories, cemetery gravestones, church records, and public documents (passenger arrival manifests, censuses, naturalization papers).