Questions tagged [naming-convention]

For questions about common methods for recording and interpreting names of people or places.

Filter by
Sorted by
Tagged with
3 votes
0 answers
70 views

FTM 2019 / Ancestry

Using FTM 2019 I'm gradually fixing all my locations using FTM standard terminology where possible. I'm based in Glasgow, Scotland , UK, so most of my locations are here and generally not an issue. ...
Roger's user avatar
  • 31
3 votes
1 answer
79 views

Earls and Dukes are Titles, AKAs, Suffixes or something else?

Earls and Dukes: With John Russell KG PC FSA, he was the 6th Duke of Bedford. Should '6th Duke of Bedford' be entered into the Title, Suffix, AKA or something else? Being a Duke or Earl wouldn't be an ...
Chris Rogers's user avatar
-2 votes
1 answer
70 views

Using name numbering for fathers, sons, etc

In my family, we have Bill Jones, his son Bill R Jones, and a grandson Bill G Jones. Can the grandson properly use Bill Jones III (the third)?
FlaStorm32's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
211 views

Catholic naming conventions

Is it a convention in the Catholic church to put a baby's Christian name first in a birth record, before their actual first name? For instance, my father was born Elmer Edward. Since he was very ...
bkb105's user avatar
  • 33
2 votes
2 answers
444 views

Americanization of Polish names

Does anyone have any idea how Polish immigrants to the US would Americanize their name? I'm having trouble tracing my great-grandparents, because I presume they Americanized their names. They ...
bkb105's user avatar
  • 33
1 vote
2 answers
2k views

Handling nicknames on Ancestry.com?

I have a relative whose first and middle names were given as "Mary Magdalena". However, for her entire life, she went by "Lena" and some records even have that listed. Anyone living who remembers her ...
Thunderforge's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
174 views

Change birth name or use Also Known As

Francis was born in 1857. Registrar entry sighted and records only one first name. Original birth record not available. Electoral rolls from 1905 to 1914 record Francis Joseph and other names and ...
Darren's user avatar
  • 1,122
1 vote
1 answer
87 views

Norwegian naming conventions

I'm looking for a comprehensive explanation of Norwegian naming conventions, specifically relating to multiple given names and middle names, etc., as opposed to Surnames, patronymics, etc. (even if ...
Harthag's user avatar
  • 113
2 votes
5 answers
3k views

What is the proper way to denote that a person is known by his/her middle name?

For people who are known by a name which isn't their first name, it is common to write that name in quotes preceding the surname, such as Thomas "Tom" Fudd, or Guy Thomas "Toddy" Nichols. What is the ...
user3570515's user avatar
5 votes
3 answers
6k views

Given Name in parenthesis on Cemetery Stones

I know the maiden name of someone is sometimes shown in parenthesis on a headstone. But I have sometimes seen first names with a name following that in parenthesis, for example: In cases like this, ...
lkessler's user avatar
  • 16.7k
-1 votes
1 answer
156 views

Duplicate Identities and Persons and Incorrect Records

How do I discover the cause of and fix duplicate records on Ancestry, and on FamilySearch? How do I find the true dates and places of life events, the true names of people, and their true relation ...
Heather Steele's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
1k views

Should suffixes like Jr (Junior) and Sr (Senior) be added to family tree?

Should I record Jr (Junior) and Sr (Senior) in family trees? What are the standards of practice in keeping that information? Background: I have a lot of family names where father and son are named ...
Whitecat's user avatar
  • 143
5 votes
3 answers
2k views

How to handle name changes in records?

Is there a standard for how to write a person's name in genealogy records or family trees? What I'm getting at is what to do with the maiden names, or previous names. If Peter Svensson was born 1900, ...
Martin G's user avatar
  • 153
2 votes
1 answer
558 views

No first name on baptism record?

I'm looking at the indexed record of a Drumond, son of Walter Drumond and Jennat Mcneil, baptised 07 September 1732 in Drymen, Stirling, Scotland. This record strikes me as unusual, as there was no ...
PearsonArtPhoto's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
183 views

In 17th century Scotland/Virginia, could a Jr. have a different name than his father?

According to all known records, John Burnett (b. Scotland 1610, d. Virginia 1686) had sons named John and Thomas. The will of John's widow, Lucretia, refers to "MY ELDEST SON JOHN BURNETT" and "my ...
Ellen Spertus's user avatar
5 votes
3 answers
291 views

Did other countries have the concentration of first names that England had in past centuries?

Anyone who has done genealogical research on England in the 17th through 19th centuries will have noticed it: a parade of Johns, Williams and Thomases, accompanied by Marys, Elizabeths and Annes. ...
Verbeia's user avatar
  • 2,998
-4 votes
1 answer
112 views

Relationship between Baldwin II and IV of the Crusades? [closed]

I'm trying to find out if and how Baldwin II and Baldwin IV, kings of Jerusalem, are related. Their wikipedia pages don't make it easy to determine this. So, my question is whether these ...
Jim's user avatar
  • 7
8 votes
1 answer
259 views

What are some of the main conventions used in Gramps?

As I have started recording my family history using evidence based methods in Gramps I've noticed that it is very flexible (too flexible?). I worry that the method in which I record data might seem ...
Steve Moser's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
149 views

A standard for names

My name is William George Dunbar. Do I record it like that in a Family History data base or use any of the following formats William George DUNBAR or william george dunbar Is there an ...
William George Dunbar's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
1k views

Middle name or two first names?

Genealogy applications, such as geni.com (the web app that I use), ask me to fill the middle name of profiles that I add. My ancestors usually have two personal names, one of them even has four ...
Erel Segal-Halevi's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
68 views

Am I Hispanic or Caucasian? [duplicate]

My father was born in Spain and all his family are Spanish from as many generations back as we can find, my mother was born in Ireland and her Irish family history has been traced back to the times of ...
Bethany J's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
157 views

Place of birth listed on immigration docs but where in Russia is Kosnitza/Kosnitze?

My Jewish family who came to Canada in 1924, from Bucharest on the SS Madonna, list their nationality as Russian, 4 family members put their place of birth as Kosnitza, and Kosnitze. Does anyone ...
jill's user avatar
  • 31
5 votes
1 answer
1k views

Inferring father/son relationships from Senior (Sr.) / Junior (Jr.) naming?

As in my other questions, I am investigating the spread of the Blackstone family name in early America. I came across the following tidbits and I would like to know if my interpretation is (likely to ...
DaveBlackston's user avatar
5 votes
3 answers
526 views

Spelling alternatives for polish name "Mushke"

My grandmothers mother's name was something like "Mushke" (from what my father remembers from his mother). I am trying to determine the correct spelling (e.g. for looking up a birth certificate), or ...
epeleg's user avatar
  • 405
8 votes
4 answers
1k views

Is it OK to use the word "County" in an American place-name?

My standard for American place-names is "settlement, county, state, USA". I have been entering the county names with the word "County" or "Co" appended, e.g. "San Rafael, Marin Co, California, USA". I ...
AdrianB38's user avatar
  • 11.6k
6 votes
4 answers
120 views

How to record "at sea" as a location

In my database, locations are "all" entered in the form City, County, State, Country (mostly the US). But I have two I am not sure how to handle. One relative was born "at sea" (between England and ...
Chris K. Caldwell's user avatar
11 votes
3 answers
174 views

Polish spelling variants for "Yechezkel Fleker"

I am trying to locate any records about my grand father. His name in "Yechezkel Fleker" or in hebrew "יחזקאל פלקר" and I am trying to search some polish archives for information about him. I am not ...
epeleg's user avatar
  • 405
13 votes
4 answers
460 views

What is needed in a Name?

I wanted to find a way of raising this question within the limited strictures of SE so please bear with me on the explanation. When we think of personal names, we immediately think of given-names and ...
ACProctor's user avatar
  • 5,897
10 votes
4 answers
281 views

How do I deal with alternative spellings to names?

I am trying to find out information for an Arzula Hokum and am running head-first into issues with her name. Her first name sounds like Ursula and her last like some variant of Holcomb(e). How do I ...
fbrereto's user avatar
  • 4,966
25 votes
4 answers
450 views

Is there a way to store data in software programs that will minimize losses when exporting to GEDCOM?

I am looking to circumvent a possible problem when I start to share my information with relatives. I see that while GEDCOM is supported to some fashion by most programs, there are shortfalls in each. ...
Greg's user avatar
  • 563
14 votes
4 answers
7k views

What is the standard method for recording married names?

Suppose Mary A marries John B and then (after his death or divorce) she marries James C. Rightly or wrongly my impression is that conventional practice in GEDCOM based programs is to record only ...
AdrianB38's user avatar
  • 11.6k
9 votes
2 answers
134 views

When does an alternate spelling due to spelling reform warrant preservation?

In comments on a question about whether to use historical or modern place names, @LennartRegebro raised the interesting question of spelling reform, and whether it was fine to use reformed spelling ...
Gene Golovchinsky's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
541 views

Is it proper to record the place name "United States of America" or "USA" as part of a historical event that pre-dates 1776? [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: Should I use the modern (what it is called now) or historical (what it was called) place name? I use Family Tree Maker which always tries to get me to accept "USA" in a place ...
Hilltownroots's user avatar
30 votes
6 answers
6k views

Recording name for infant who died unnamed?

Going back in my genealogy, I find children who died in infancy. Some were given names, some weren't. How should I record those with no given names? Often there were multiple unnamed children in a ...
Luke_0's user avatar
  • 2,477
10 votes
2 answers
1k views

Recording same person as foster and adoption parent in Ancestry.com tree?

The Mildner couple in my tree became foster parents of a young girl in the early 1900s. In 1912, they were sued by the birth mother of the girl for custody, but the judge ruled that the girl could ...
Gene Golovchinsky's user avatar
16 votes
9 answers
6k views

Which name should be a person's primary name?

People can have many different names over time. Examine the example of a woman who immigrated to the US from an Eastern European country. She could have three names over time: Katerina Jurkiewicz (...
user avatar
23 votes
8 answers
2k views

How should I distinguish siblings named identically?

At times when infant mortality was high, families might give a child the same name as a deceased brother or sister. For example Aurelius and Ann MEDWELL had two daughters named Cornelia. They were ...
Fortiter's user avatar
  • 13.3k
14 votes
1 answer
3k views

When and Why Did Juniors Stop Being Promoted to Seniors?

My name is T. Wetmore IV. My father, grandfather and great grandfather had the names you might expect, and specifically my grandfather was named T. Wetmore Jr. I found an inscription in a book given ...
Tom Wetmore's user avatar
  • 3,162
8 votes
3 answers
586 views

How should I handle French-Canadian "dit" names and variant spellings?

This page gives a good explanation of French-Canadian "dit" names. The short version is that: Illiteracy and lack of standardized spelling means that many of my 17th/18th century ancestors have ...
bstpierre's user avatar
  • 1,654
12 votes
1 answer
2k views

How do I record names involving adoptions in a family tree?

My grandfather's second wife had three children from her previous marriage. After they married, my grandfather legally adopted her children, which changed their last names. When I record the ...
Lorraine W's user avatar
  • 1,168
21 votes
15 answers
5k views

How should I record women with unknown maiden name?

When I find a woman's married name and have not yet found her maiden name what is the best way to record her name? If I put nothing, I end up with many Jane or Mary names in my list and have no easy ...
Jeni's user avatar
  • 2,119
15 votes
1 answer
324 views

How do I research Chinese names that have been Americanized?

My mother's side is entirely Chinese. They immigrated to Canada in the 1950's from Guangdong province. I only know the Americanized spelling and pronunciation of her family name 'Young' and have not ...
Canadian Girl Scout's user avatar
15 votes
5 answers
475 views

When documenting location, should my or their native language be used for place names?

When I'm documenting the place where an event occurred, should I write the name in my own language or in the native language of the place? For example: Spain or España I am assuming that I can only ...
user avatar
49 votes
12 answers
4k views

When documenting location, should current or historical place names be used?

When I am documenting records, do I use the name of a city or country as it is called today or as it was in the year an ancestor was there? Related to: When documenting place names, should I write ...
Jeni's user avatar
  • 2,119
10 votes
3 answers
688 views

With generations of multiple marriages and step children, how is this family relationship described? [duplicate]

I'm not sure is this is the right SE to ask but I'll ask non the less. I'm trying to define a family relationship. I think the person is my step step first cousin once removed. My my Grand-Father is ...
Justin808's user avatar
  • 1,294