 Abraham Mendelssohn renounced the Jewish religion ; he and his wife deliberately decided not to have Felix circumcised , in contravention of the Jewish tradition . Felix and his siblings were first brought up without religious education , and were baptised by a Reformed Church minister in 1816 , at which time Felix was given the additional names Jakob Ludwig . Abraham and his wife Lea were themselves baptised in 1822 , formally adopting the surname Mendelssohn Bartholdy ( which they had used since 1812 ) for themselves and their children . The name Bartholdy was added at the suggestion of Lea 's brother , Jakob Salomon Bartholdy , who had inherited a property of this name in <unk> and adopted it as his own surname . In an 1829 letter to Felix , Abraham explained that adopting the Bartholdy name was meant to demonstrate a decisive break with the traditions of his father Moses : " There can no more be a Christian Mendelssohn than there can be a Jewish Confucius " . On embarking on his musical career , Felix did not entirely drop the name Mendelssohn as Abraham requested , but in deference to his father signed his letters and had his visiting cards printed using the form ' Mendelssohn Bartholdy ' . In 1829 , his sister Fanny wrote to him of " Bartholdy [ ... ] this name that we all dislike " . 
