Two hundred years ago no parent would have named a child for a favorite movie star. There were no movies. However, naming a child for an historical figure, like George after George Washington, was not uncommon. Other naming practice common in the past would seldom be considered today. However, understanding such practices may help a [...]
Changes in the spelling of surnames when immigrants came to America create problems enough for genealogists. Add to this name changes made afterwards, often to better fit the local culture or simplify a names usage. Now add these issue to surnames and locations in foreign countries with changes in spelling over time. In research, questions [...]
Resources, records, documents, hours of research and in the end it all comes down to names and dates. No matter what any of us ever learn about out own ancestors, genealogists start and end with names and dates. Those names are critical to research. But, have you ever considered that two different documents may show [...]
The following article was written by Bryan L. Mulcahy, Reference Librarian at the Fort Myers-Lee County Library, and was reprinted with his permission: How often have you encountered and individual or family in a census which looks like yours, but the names aren’t quite right? Have you found what appears to be your great-grandfathers marriage [...]
The following Press release was written by Genes Reunited: Tuesday, 5 July 2011: 37% of people would name their children after relatives with traditional names Quirky celebrity baby names not so original after all Brooklyn and Cruz found in the 19th Century censuses Genes Reunited analysed over 750 million names Analysis of over 750 million [...]
Believe it or not, there are places in this world where the naming of a child is strictly prescribed by the government. In America we can call our kids most anything, but in some places it would be illegal to name your children One Million, Two Million, and so forth, as the Million family is [...]
