Genealogy Chat

See below.......

I know that a womans maiden name will change when she marrys. But how can you change a first name. Helen

Hi Helen, Normally by deed poll. Or she could be 'just known as' another name. Nicky

yes , but when did that come into force Helen

Under English law you don't have to go through any formalities to change either your first name or your surname. A deed poll can be useful for dealing with officialdom, but is by no means compulsorily. As long as there is no intent to mislead or defraud, you can change your name as often as you want to whatever you want.

Interesting Andrew, I didn't know that. Nicky

So if she was Annie Smith when she married my ggrandfather, then on the 1891 & 1901 census she changed first name to Sarah Elizabeth Helen

I did'nt know that either Nicky till i ask . But it's nice to no anyway. Helen

It's also perhaps worth stating that, unlike in some other countries, a birth registration is not a formal registration of a name, but rather of the fact of the birth. So the name given at registration can quite happily never be used again without falling foul of the authorities. Similarly, there is no legal requirement that a woman change her surname at marriage... nor that a man doesn't! Obviously in more recent times this has all very much become more a matter of theory than of practice.

Hi, Thanks Andrew ,but that still does'nt solve the name change for me. Helen

True! Sometimes, especially in earlier years, the name given at the christening would be considered by the parents to be the 'real' name. Although there's a mechanism for having the birth registration amended to reflect this, it's very rarely used. Another possibility is simply that someone who was 'officially' known by one name, was informally known by another. Depending on the family's attitude to dealing with officialdom, one name might be given in one case, whereas another name might be given in another. Also, only one person would be filling out the household schedule for a census, and so they'd maybe put down (or tell the enumerator) what they called person X, rather than what person X called themselves... or vice versa! Whereas at marriage, a woman (or man, for that matter) might either put what they were known as, or what their 'official' name was. For example, one of my g. grandfather's sisters was registered at birth as 'Ann Eliza'. So in census returns, where they were only supposed to put the first name in full, she appears as 'Ann E.'; but she was known as 'Eliza'. You can easily imagine a scenario whereby her 'official' name might only have been written down as 'Ann', which would make it seem like her name had changed, whereas she was simply known by her middle name. Alternatively, another of his sisters was 'officially' named 'Emily'... but she was known as 'Pru'!

Hi, So i could go ahead and order the marriage cert anyway. Then i would know one way or the other . At least for the time being i could call her mine for now. Helen