Category Archives: naming variations

So What’s in a name? Name variants and do they really matter?

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As a genealogist by trade, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had clients tell me something similar to this:  “He/she isn’t from our line because the surname is spelled Byrnes instead of Burns” or “Oh no, ours is Elliot with one ‘t’ – not two”, or “Our line is MacIntosh with an ‘a’ not “McIntosh”. And to be fair, they all truly believed it – they were quite unaware of the ever-annoying variants of surnames when tracing back … Continue reading

The importance of checking variations in the spelling of names.

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I joined the Genealogical Society of Queensland just over 2 years ago and immediately started attending all the information sessions and seminars that were on offer. Numerous times I heard the advice, “ Be sure to consider variations on the spelling of names.” I took this advice and considered different spelling for the tricky surnames like RAILL ( Real, Reale, Rail, Raile) and Conor (Connor, Connors, Coner, O’Connor). However, I made one very serious mistake. I did not look at … Continue reading