Genealogy Chat

For some time now I have been trying to find out what happened to an ancestor who was born out of wedlock. I have found on Ancestry BMD's a marriage for someone of the right name, but a middle initial is given, and on her birth cert which I have, she wasn't given a middle name. Would it be not unknown to adopt a middle name which you weren't registered with? I have no idea if she was ever baptised, could you acquire an extra name that way? Lisa

You could gain or loose a middle name at baptism or simply through usage. The same, indeed, as for your first name or surname!

are you sure you have the right marriage entry? perhaps you need to re -check and see if you can find another entry with just her given name from birth certificate? i think i'd try double checking on different sites.

Almost anything is possible!! I have found that it was particularly popular to add extra middle names between about 1895 and 1925...... What date was the marriage?? If it was before 1901 can you find the person on the census with their hubby, with matching age and place of birth? Merry

My GGrandfather had a completely different name when he go married to when he was born. The only thing that was the same was his first name lol He had a new middle name (which was bis birth name!!) and a new surname (which was his mother's married name!).

My Grandmother was registered as Mary but all her later documents give her name as Mary Emma. When I queried this I was told that extra names were often added at Baptism. Rosemary(Essex)

My grandfather is registered at birth as plain George, on his marriage cert he is George Patrick, and on his death cert he is George Patrick, so yes it does happen......MOE!

Susan I don't know. I've gone all the way thru and this is the only one I've found that looks possible. She was born in 1888 and this is in 1934. I can't use a fathers name as a means of checking as there is no father listed on her birth cert - all I can use is her age. she is driving me nuts! Lisa

Is she really one of your ancestors? Because if she is, then presumably you have the birth certificate for at least one of her children. Does that give her a middle name? (Or is she just a relative rather than an ancestor?) Kate.

Do you know for definite that she married??.... Merry

Shes my great grandmothers daughter - my great aunt? so, no not a direct ancestor. And no, I don't know that she definitely married. Lisa

One of my ancestors at birth was called Mary Ann LINES (her mother's surname), however, by the time she gets married she is called Mary Ann Lines BARTRAM (which is the surname of who her mother married), and from then on all of Mary's children's birth certificates she is referred to as Mary Ann Lines KING formerly BARTRAM. I also have a few ancestors who did not use their birth names given, ie we have an Janet Maillie and took me ages to find her marriage, until a family remembered that she went by the name of Jessie and that is what she is married as Jessie Janet Maillie So anything is possible

I have a baptism of Francis Giles, son of Mary Giles (widow) who became Francis Giles Sherwood when his mother married the presumed father the next year and used that name for the est of his life. There were other children, some adopted the Giles surname, others the Sherwood one. They could appear on the census as Sherwood, but marry as Giles the next year. Highly confusing.