People turned a lot of Z's into S's and things like that. That's a big reason why there are so many similar spelled surnames. They'd write it down 'wrong' at E

People turned a lot of Z's into S's and things like that. That's a big reason why there are so many similar spelled surnames. They'd write it down 'wrong' at Ellis Island, and that's what you were stuck with. Oleksii, Oleksy, etc. I agree with you that Machuga doesn't sound black at all. Maybe Hispanic if you're pronouncing it 'Mah-choo-gah'