I bet I know why Warren claimed Native American heritage.

[rox63]

38. A link from that page that documents some of the difficulties

http://www.nedoba.org/gene_names.html

An excerpt below:

While Native People where adapting to the demands of European culture, name changes were common. As town clerks began recording vital statistics for their communities, spelling and pronunciation created problems. Some are reasonably easy to spot, as they are just phonetic spellings or Anglicized versions of a name. Some are not so obvious, unless you are familiar with common Wabanaki names. The Wabanaki pronounce Marie as Mali, so you can be reasonable certain that any Native women from this neck of the woods with the name Molly will be found as Marie in Catholic records.

Examples

•Groundin becomes Grounder
•Dostie becomes Dusty or Dustin
•Thomas is often Tomer or Tomah
•Joseph is often Susep
•Alice is often Tellis
•Jacques/Jack is often Sac
•Pierre Paul was Anglicized to Pierpole
•Marie Agatha was Anglicized to Mollyockett
•John Baptist was Anglicized to Sabattus
•The Abenaki name Wionitamente is shorten to Tahamont and sometimes anglicized to Thompson

Did you notice the number of French names in the examples? Yes, many Abenaki were baptized in the Catholic Religion and received French baptismal names. These names were often used in documents and other formal occasions. However, a person may have had a native name and/or a nickname that they were known by to friends and family and this common name could change several times during the person's lifetime.