The name game

Published on Tuesday 5 September 2006 13:07

ALL THE players around the Genealogy table are dealt a hand in advance. You may have a very common name. You may have a very exotic name. There's nothing you can do about it. You each have to play the hand you've been given.

You, Mrs Smith ne Robertson, will have to work hard. You, Mr Ballantyne, will have less of a problem. And you, Miss Carberry, may well find the going easy.

By the way, you will all have to cope with a fact of life: spelling only became standardised in the 20th century. Before that, your ancestors and the clerks who recorded their comings and goings had a cavalier attitude to letters and the order in which they appeared.

Make the most of the hand you've been dealt

Let's take Mrs Smith ne Robertson's case first. There are ways to minimise the sheer volume of Robertsons.

Scottish records log women from cradle to grave under all the surnames they have had. Grandmother Mary Campbell who married James Robertson would appear twice in the burial record as Mary Campbell and Mary Robertson. This allows you to pick the less common name – and also to double check with the other.

Quick tip:

If both parties have popular surnames, see if one has a rare first name. If you are looking for a marriage between James Robertson and Euphemia Smith, who do you go for?

Mac names of course pose a special problem. Don't feel too glued to that Mc spelling. In the period you will be searching, there was no difference between MacDonald, McDonald, M'Donald or Macdonald. Your ancestor didn't care – and the minister or clerk didn't care either. But those names may be found at different parts of the alphabetic list. So be prepared to have to search in various spots.

The Mac names are not the only one to suffer from variations that may affect their place in the lists. Miller and Millar, Smyth and Smith and even Yule and Zuill could fool you.

So you've got a really rare surname?

Give thanks and make the most of it. Using search engines such as Google, you could just type in your surname, with a few provisos such as "Scotland" or "Fife", etc and see where it takes you.

With the indexes to censuses and Births, Marriages and Deaths (BMDs), see how many people with your surname are living in the same area as your known ancestors. You could well come across extended family in a way Mrs Smith ne Robertson could never hope for.

Not forgetting given names

In the period you will be looking at, there was a Presbyterian predestination as far as given names were concerned - no Dwayne or Kylie in those days.

On the way to the christening font, this is how it worked.

Sons

Number 1 after father's father

Number 2 after mother's father

Number 3 after the father himself

Daughters

Number 1 after mother's mother

Number 2 after father's mother

Number 3 after the mother herself

This traditional name pattern was popular but not universal. It could be modified by all sorts of factors. In an extreme case, parents and grandparents could all have the same given names. In this situation James and Mary could well be used up with two children, then it meant searching for aunts and uncles to commemorate at the font.Quick tip:

Bear in mind this pattern. If for example you come across a Charles and Helen who do not appear on the husband's side of the family this may help you track down the mother's parents. A long run of boys might panic the parents into the feminine versions such as Andrena or Robina or such like. Bear in mind that in addition to the problem of spelling variations you may come across contractions or pet names. "Frances" at the font may become "Fanny" on the wedding certificate. "Mary" may turn into "Molly", "Alison" into "Ann".

Finally, in Gaelic-speaking areas, you may very well find that Celtic and Scots versions may be interchangeable.