Bamidbar,
Thank you for your very informative post. I once heard a rav visiting from Israel give a speech in which he said that Jewish people should not have “English” last names. (I presume what he really meant was names of European origin.)
I discussed this with him afterwards since like many Ashkenazic Jews I have a family name that SOUNDS German (e.g. Bernstein, although that’s not my name). My opinion is that by continuing to use this name, I honor my father and grandfather and those before them, A”H.
Seems to me, and I mean no disrespect to anyone here, that there is some confusion between what is Halacha, what is minhag, and what is someone’s SUGGESTION on what to do.