Does It Matter How You Spell Your Name?

Robert II

Today (19 April) is the anniversary of the death in 1390 of Robert II, King of Scots.  Robert II was the first Stewart King, the grandson of Robert Bruce and the son of Robert Bruce's daughter Marjorie and her husband Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of Scotland.

The name "Stewart" had been adopted by the the 3rd High Steward of Scotland as a surname, based on his position of "Steward" at a time when surnames were not very common.

It is an early example of how names can change because of a deliberate adoption of a spelling, a mistake or simply because there is not or was not a common spelling for a name.

Unusual names can  help

 genealogists

Looking at names today, we can see that first names in particular are spelt in a variety of ways.  In fact, many parents like to give their children's name a unique twist.  This can make it easier to search for someone but only if the name is correctly recorded.

Surnames now, are usually the same as one of the parent's surnames but once again, this is only as good as the person who recorded the information.

Many people spend hours looking for records and are puzzled when they come up with no results or find gaps where it seems unlikely that there should be one.  

Often people call in Kin Tree when they hit a problem like this.  We have the expertise to look for records quickly and this can save much time and money for those looking for their ancestors.  

What problems can be found when searching for a name?

A look at old birth, marriage, death and census records can show a different spelling on each occasion.  

Misspelt names can make it hard
 to track down ancestors
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Take the name "Baillie" for example.  Having researched the name as a surmane, we have seen it with a number of spelling variations - Baillie, Bailie, Bailey, Bailley, Baylee - all for the same family!

On top of that, if the name has been recorded by someone that has been told the surname but misheard it, then it may recorded as something completely different!  Our Ballie family had one recording of their name where a "P" replaced the "B" and suddenly they were recorded as the "Paley" family. 

Often when we are searching for records, we use an index of recorded names that have been transcribed for the index.  Sometimes these can be incorrectly transcribed and so the index will show the wrong name. When researching a family with the name "Burton", we found a record where the name had been transcribed as "Binton" as the "u" and "r" had been misread. Even though we searched for it using spelling variations it didn't show up and only using our expertise at looking for the family in a completely way, were we able to track them down.

Happy hunting and remember you can call on Kin Tree for a free initial consultation if you want help! Leave a message below or email us at kintree@ymail.com

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