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Beginners => Family History Beginners Board => Topic started by: RebeccaNZ on Sunday 05 July 09 06:45 BST (UK)
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Hi,
I have two different families in my family tree that changed their name.
1st one - My great grandmother's family moved to London from Czechoslovakia sometime in 1800's either her father or grandfather changed their name to Francis to sound more English.
2nd - Jonas Roberts Savage and his family changed their last name to Thomas sometime early 1800's when Jonas moved to London from Wotton Under Edge in Gloucestershire.
When did people start changing their name legally?
How is the best way to trace name changes and find out why (as in the Savage/Thomas case) the family changed their name?
Rebecca :)
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Hi Rebecca
It's an interesting topic but there's not really an answer - you always could (and still can) be known as anything you please, as long as there is no intention to deceive.
Some individuals changed their names to take on that of a step-parent, often changing back when they married. Others apparently changed to take the name of a benefactor or to inherit (haven't found anyone doing that myself - nothing much to inherit, lol!) Still others, born illegitimately, took their mother's maiden name initially and later adopted the surname of their father.
I look forward to reading other replies.
Kind regards, Arranroots ;)
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Ditto what Arranroots said. :D
Also, as in your first reference, lots of European migrants Anglicised their names. You find this is very common in the US and Australia.
Leonie.
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It is quite an interesting topic.
I know that it seems with Jonas Roberts Savage that his whole family including parents changed their name ...
With my other family - I know the reason was to sound more English and fit in ... as the family had a foreign sounding last name.
I know that nowadays there is a way of legally changing your name for official documents etc ... I suppose anyone can use any name that they want but back then was no process or official way of changing names ...?
Rebecca :)
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You could go through a solicitor and change your name by deed poll (from 1914 these are also shown in the London Gazette, I think the NA or someone has some earlier records) - but unless there was some good reason to have the details legally noted down, and you had the money (so, upper class, where the name change might effect or was due to inheritance issues, perhaps), in the 1800s this was not all that common to my knowledge. You see a lot of people listed as alias a lot in records, e.g. from the Old Bailey:
multiple alternate names:
Thomazine Davies, alias Sparks, alias Bailey
Mary Williams, alias Smith, alias Jones
James Harris, alias Levingstone, alias Barrow
minor changes:
Francis Pevanson, alias Peverson , a French man
Jane Stanley, alias Stavely
John Collet alias Cole
nicknames also:
Catherine Cotterel alias Irish Kate alias Catherine Irise alias Twford
John Bennet alias Freeman , but more notoriously known by the Name of the GOLDEN FARMER
Later on you see quite a lot of them in the London Gazette for immigrants (particularly post-WWI switching from German-sounding names, for example). Or if they naturalized then both names might be listed:
i.e. from the NA: Naturalisation Papers: Bentel, Adolphe (also known as Charles Boydel), from Frankfort-on-Mayne.
I would suggest that you look into the Savage family background and keep an eye out for anyone surnamed Thomas. Do you know their occupations, and did all the family move to London? Does anybody switch back and forth between the surnames?
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I would suggest that you look into the Savage family background and keep an eye out for anyone surnamed Thomas. Do you know their occupations, and did all the family move to London? Does anybody switch back and forth between the surnames?
I know a little about the Savage family history ....
It looks like John Savage married Catherine Humpries Nov. 1796 Wotton Under Edge. They had 4 boys - Jonas Roberts Savage b 1809, Humphrey Savage 1799, William Savage 1803, Robert Savage 1805.
In Jonas' marriage record 1833, Kennington London - Jonas has become Jonas Roberts Thomas
It looks as though from 1851 census - Humphrey has changed his name to Thomas and is living St Mary Newington as a grocer. It looks like Robert has also changed names and living in Islington.
I can't find any records in 1841 census for John or Catherine Savage - but there is a John and Catherine Thomas still living Wotton Under Edge ....
So, it looks as though the whole family changed their names ... but only the children moved to London while John and Catherine stayed behind.
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To prevent duplication of effort, please answer any specific questions about the SAVAGE/THOMAS family in Wotton under Edge on Rebecca's other thread:
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,391004.msg2624250.html#msg2624250
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I have a family that changed their name, it went from Whitman to Whitmore in the 1800s. I and even somebody with the actual surname Whitmore and is part of that family line, don't know why they did this.
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Hi everyone!
This is interesting because I have a name change in the 1830's for my ancestors, whose whole family changed from plain old Quintin to St.Quintin. They were Quintin on the 1830 census and St. Quintin from 1840 census.
Does anyone know if official paperwork was required? I can't seem to find anything at the archives.
They were well to do, and it seems they did it for status.
Thanks in advance
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Most changes of name leave no paper trail at all, but this guide outlines the records that you might find:
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/changes-of-name/
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Re Savage name change to Thomas
John Savage was committed to a lunatic asylum in 1837 and died later that year. I assume that his behaviour caused the family to change their name to Thomas. Thomas was the name of Catherine Humphries father
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I had a lot of problems trying to find my grandfather's relatives as there was a lot of name changes.
One of my forebears went by the name of Maximillian Hammond, but was encouraged to change it to Maximillian Dudley Digges Dalison. The Digges family owned property in Kent and a daughter married a Hammond, but I'm not sure where the Dalison part comes from.