#52Ancestors - Week 29 - Fun Fact

Misspeld Knames are a commun probblem for reeserchors.

It constantly surprises me how often I hear fellow family history researchers say "That can't be MY ancestor - the spelling of the name is wrong."  It invariably launches me into a speech about how common spelling variations are and how much we need to be aware of them.  Fun Fact - there is not a single surname in my family tree - and not many first names either - that do not have multiple spelling variations.  That includes Green (Greene, Gren, Grene), Clark (Clarke, Clerk, Clerke) and Pike (Pyke, Peck, Pack).

In times when literacy levels were low, how a name sounded was far more important then how it was spelled.  Generally your ancestor was not the person who actually recorded their name.  You can bet that those who actually did the recording — the census takers, clerks, tax collectors, etc — didn’t stop to ask about spelling, or check they had heard a name correctly.

People also changed their names for a variety of reasons.  We need to consider Anglicization of names – especially non-British names.  First names as well as surnames often changed, especially around the time a person moved from one area to another.  Local dialects and foreign accents also often made a significant difference, especially if the person recording the name wasn't familiar with the accent or dialect.  How our ancestors were known by those around them may not match earlier records.

Many first names were truncated or written in short form.  William recorded as Wm, Patrick as Pat or Patk, James as Js and so on.  You also have common shortened names – William as Bill, James as Jimmy, Elizabeth as Eliza or Liz or Beth or Betty. 

When we are researching we need to consider how well the search engine of any database might cope with alternate spelling, truncation and so on.  Several searches may be necessary to ensure you don’t miss potential matches.

Another fun fact I have been caught by in my research.  In some areas, particularly around Germany, two names were often given to a child at birth or baptism.  The first name - what we often refer to as the given name - was a spiritual name, usually to honour a favourite saint, and it was often used repeatedly in families.  It was the second name – or middle name - by which the person was actually known.  That's how I ended up with 4 brothers - August Wilhelm, August Carl, August Friedrich and August Johanne.