Genealogy Chat

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Hope this makes sense. Looked up on Family Relatives for marriage in 1937 using name of wife. As usual this gave husband surname, reg district, vol etc. To find out first name of husband I then cross checked by searching for the marriage again using his surname. As you would expect all the details are the same but include his first name. HOWEVER, under name of person he married it gives 2 surnames. X or Y. The wording is definately or. I don't know until I send for the certificate if this is the right person. (Although unusual Christian name and reasonably uncommon surname) I have a copy of their birth certificate where they were given their mother's name and no father was mentioned - mother 17 & unmarried. Could this partly explain the 2 surnames? What do you all think? Thanks for your thoughts, Helen

Could it also be that this was her second marriage? Anne

This is from my local BMD site: As these indexes are based on the original data held by the local register offices, the database will often contain extra entries with the same reference number. The reasons for an extra entry can be one of the following: Remarriage: Where the lady is remarrying and both her maiden name and former married name are on the entry in the register, then both are listed in the indexes. It is not possible to tell from the indexes which is the maiden name. Change of name: Some entries in the register show alternative names for both firstnames and surnames. All will be listed in the indexes. Poor writing: Where the original handwriting in the register is unclear all possible interpretations are listed in the indexes. Parent's surname differs from child's. For example, if a child is raised by the mother without the father being present, he or she may have taken the mother's surname, so when the parent's surname differs on the entry in the register, both surnames may be used in the index. Difference between the name as entered by the registrar and the name as signed. Alias names (also known as / formerly known as). Hyphenated surnames may be listed as both names and/or each name separately.

shall I have a look for you if you give me their names

Thank you all for your help. Nana, I have printed off your info for future reference it's really helpful. Valerie - I will email you if that's OK. Although she would be n her 90s she might still be alive - I don't know yet & I don't want to fall out with her family before I've even made contact! Helen

I have just looked up my second marriage on 1837online using late husbands name and the entry comes up twice, once listing me as my maiden name and once listing me by my first married name. I reverted to my maiden name after divorce and when I married second time, I added my first married name to the certificate. This is an entry after 1984, so is listed differently to earlier ones. Is it possible that the same thing happened in your case?

Thanks Carol I will work on the assumption that she was married before. I have had a quick look for her 1st marriage but no joy yet. I think i will have to bite the bullet & send off for this cert to see what other clues it might hold. Best Wishes, Helen

Hi Helen, I hope I'm not too late to reply to your thread. My natural mother had 2 surnames when she married for the first time, I had assumed that she must have been married before, she hadn't! The surnames she gave were her maiden name and the surname of my half brother's father, who she never married. My half brother was registered under the surname of the chap she married who was not his father. Hope this makes some sense to anyone reading it! Best wishes Amanda

I've had one of those. The details were Derek Mallen married Louise Cera or Tocqueville. As it was a previously unknown Tocqueville I ordered the certificate. She was born Tocqueville married a Cera then divorced him. It turns out she was my first cousin once removed. Unfortunately I didn't know of her existence until after her death but I am in contact with her daughter.

My first marriage has me listed with 2 surnames, it indicates the surname you were known by at the time, and any other surname you have ever been known as. I was registered in my mothers maiden name, (I was born out of wedlock) and then from the age of 3 when my parents married I began to be called by my fathers surname. When I got married in 1983 I remember being asked if I had ever been known by any other name and I said yes, but only until I was 3yrs old, the vicar said it was still relevant info and would need to be entered on the cert. I only found out there were two entries a couple of months ago. Hope that makes sense Sam :)

Thank you Amanda, Janet & Smiley I'm going to order the certificate today - I wasn't 100% about it being the right one but after reading all your replies I've got that gut feeling that says just spend the £7 & see what you can find out. I'm hoping because of her age (23) that it might be a ref to her birth father who was not mentioned on her birth cert. Either way it will be an extra line to follow up - I will let you know what I discover - or offer the certificate if they're not related at all !!! Thanks again, Helen