Ira Gershwin was born Israel Gershvin on Manhattan's East Side on December 6, 1896. His father, Morris (Moishe) Gershovitz, changed the family name to Gershvin sometime after emigrating from St. Petersburg, Russia. Gershwin's mother, Rosa Bruskin, also emigrated from Russia, just four years before she married Gershovitz. A refreshingly informal attitude permeated the Gershvin household that accounted for the variation of surnames between children and parents. Such informality overflowed into virtually every aspect of the Gershvins' lives. Indeed, Ira Gershwin went by the name "Izzy" as a child and always believed his proper name to be Isidore, until he applied for a passport in 1928 and learned his true given name.
Gershwin was the oldest of four siblings. His brother, George, was two years younger, followed by another brother, Arthur, and a sister, Frances, who was born on Ira Gershwin's tenth birthday. His father changed jobs frequently and moved the family residence accordingly. Thus, Gershwin lived at dozens of addresses around New York City as a child. The children amused themselves by roller-skating and playing street games and, in adolescence, the boys frequented the billiard halls. Ira Gershwin attended P.S.
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