The American Immigrant Wall of Honor, located on Ellis Island in New York Harbor, celebrates our nation’s immigrant experience. Unveiled in 1990, this permanent exhibit is home to 775,000 individual and family names inscribed by donors to commemorate their heritage. Names are etched in a series of stainless steel panels situated between the Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration and the banks of the Hudson River overlooking the Lower Manhattan skyline.

The American Immigrant Wall of Honor includes names of immigrants of all eras, even up to the present day. All ethnicities, years of arrival, points of entry, and modes of travel are represented. There are names of families and individuals, both living and deceased, each with its own story. Some donors inscribe names to commemorate the centennial of an ancestor’s arrival while new Americans celebrate their naturalization. Virtually every nationality from every inhabited continent on the face of the earth can be found on the Wall of Honor, alongside those who endured forced migration from slavery and our land’s earliest settlers, the American Indian. The common element that ties these names together is the celebration of American immigration.

To place a name on The American Immigrant Wall of Honor use our online order form or contact the Foundation’s Donor Services team at ContactUs@LibertyEllisFoundation.org to receive information by mail.

For each contribution of $225, a donor may add an individual or one family name (ex. John A. Smith, The Mary Thompson Smith Family). Two-name entries are also available for a $300 donation (ex. John and Mary Smith, The Thompson-Smith Family). Leader Levels begin at $1,000. Please follow the Wall of Honor inscription formats (see below).

All donations support the Foundation’s mission to restore and preserve the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, including maintaining The American Immigrant Wall of Honor.

Please note that names are inscribed annually. Donations made throughout the calendar year will be installed the following summer.

Each Wall of Honor purchase comes with a free Certificate of Recognition. Duplicates certificates are available ($15 per duplicate). Certificates can be displayed in a document holder or custom frame.

Reproductions of each Wall panel are also available ($30 per panel). Each panel reproduction is printed on parchment paper measuring 11 inches wide by 17 inches tall. Suitable for framing, the replicas make especially meaningful gifts and are a wonderful reminder of your loved one’s place on this moving memorial.

Visit our Shop for more information.

Note:   To order a panel reproduction please provide the panel number on which your ancestors’ name appears.  This is typically a two or three-digit number (e.g. 718). You can locate the panel number HERE.

All contributions to The American Immigrant Wall of Honor support the Foundation’s mission to restore and preserve the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, including maintaining the Wall of Honor.

Contribution levels include:

$225 – Single name or family

$300 – Double name

$1,000, $5,000 & $10,000 – Contributions at these Leader Levels entitle you to two lines and special placement on the Wall of Honor. You will also receive admission to our exclusive Emma Lazarus Society.

Matching Gift: If your company participates in a Matching Gift program, please inquire with your employer to determine if our Foundation is eligible.

• John Smith
• John A. Smith
• The Smith Family
• The John Smith Family
• The John A. Smith Family
• The Mary Thompson Smith Family
• Mary Thompson Smith

• John and Mary Smith
• John A. and Mary T. Smith
• John and Mary Jones Smith
• The John and Mary Smith Family
• The Thompson-Smith Family

• Maximum of 40 characters per entry, including spaces and punctuation.
• Only English language alphabet letters.
• No accent marks.
• No titles (e.g., Mr. or Mrs., M.D., Esq., Rev., General, etc.); Jr., Sr., III etc. are the only exceptions
• No inclusion of parentheses or quotation marks (e.g., John (Jack) Smith or John “Jack” Smith). Such submissions will appear as a sign name (e.g., John Jack Smith).
• When honoring someone with a married name, consider including the maiden name (e.g., Mary Thompson Smith or Mary Thompson-Smith).
• When honoring a family name, we recommend using a first and last name (e.g., The John Smith Family.) Please note that “The” and “Family” are always used in such an entry.
• Specify upper and lower case letters and spacing where necessary (e.g., von Wyck, DiBello).
• In a two-name entry, the word “and” is written out (ex. John and Mary Smith, not John & Mary Smith)
• While Country of Origin appears on the Certificate of Registration and in the digital database, this information is not etched on the Wall of Honor. Names are listed alphabetically and based on giving level on the Wall of Honor panels.

All names submissions are subject to review and acceptance by The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Inc.

If you need assistance with your Wall of Honor submission, our team is happy to help. Simply reach out to ContactUs@LibertyEllisFoundation.org.