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 nearly one million 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 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.

For each contribution of $300, a donor receives a Single Line Inscription, which accommodates up to 40 characters, including punctuation and spaces. Leadership Inscriptions 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:

• All inscriptions are subject to approval by The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation.
• Names are inscribed annually – i.e., 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 and document holders are available through our Shop.

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.

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:

$300 – Single Line Inscription (up to 40 characters, including punctuation and spaces)

$1,000, $2,500 & $5,000 – Contributions at these Leadership Inscription levels entitle the donor to 2-4 lines of text and special placement on the Wall of Honor panel. Donors at these lever 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

Thank you for your interest in an American Immigrant Wall of Honor Leadership Inscription. Please link here for information.

• Maximum of 40 characters per entry, including spaces and punctuation.
• No titles (e.g., Mr. or Mrs., M.D., Esq., Rev., General, etc.); Jr., Sr., III etc. are the only exceptions
• No years, ages, or digits of any kind can be inscribed on the Wall of Honor (e.g., 1986, 30, 5)
• 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).
• 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.
• For the “Donated by” please include only the first and last name(s) of those who donated, or the family name (e.g., Donated by John Smith, Donated by John Smith and Mary Thompson, Donated by The Smith Family) 

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

Click here to search for a name on the Wall of Honor.

Your search will display the names of individuals and families who have been memorialized on the Wall of Honor by donors to The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation. Names represent arrivals from all years, all points of entry, and all modes of travel. The donor’s name will also be displayed.

NOTE: Details regarding name, date, country of origin and other information have been provided by donors and have not been verified for historical accuracy. See Terms of Use.

The Wall of Honor search will return records that contain an exact match for the name as provided by the donor family. You can start a search by using a person’s Last Name and refine from there (The Last Name field is always required).

It does not. While many names on the Wall of Honor represent individuals who arrived through Ellis Island, it’s not a requirement. The Wall celebrates the ethnic diversity of America across generations. Individual or family names can be placed in tribute on the Wall regardless of when an immigrant arrived or through which port they entered.

They are not. The Wall’s search results exist separately from the Ellis Island archives. When you search the Wall’s database you will find names that have been inscribed on The American Immigrant Wall of Honor via charitable donations. If you would like to search the Ellis Island Archives and explore our vast collection of historical arrival records, please visit Passenger Search.

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