How do you pronouce "GORDGE"?

[ourmike]

Hello all, I'm getting back into my research after a break of 10 years, looking through my notes and picking up the threads.

Most of my ancestors back to the early 19th century are from the Dorset and Hampshire area, but the GEORGE line peters out in the Corfe area.

One thing I've noticed is there are a lot of GORDGEs and GORGEs around the Charmouth area, and I'm wondering whether any of my people could be among them.

Can anybody tell me whether the G at the startg of GORDGE is pronounced like a J as in jam, or like a G as in gooseberry?

I've found some overseer's letters where Elizabeth GORDGE and Elizabeth GORGE seem to be the same person. I've also fouind some baptism records where GORDGE, GORIDGE, GORADGE and GORINGE seem to be used for the same two parents. Possibly the vicar couldn't spell or the mother had a bad cold, but it suggests those names would have been pronounced with a hard "G".

[Ruskie]

Hello ourmike and welcome to rootschat. 

I hope someone will be able to help you properly, but, just an idea ... it seems possible that all of those surnames would be interchangable and it may not be significant how the "G" was pronounced as it may be something which varied or changed through the years.

Have you seen this?:
http://www.nationaltrustnames.org.uk/

If you give some names, dates, places etc and tell us where you're stuck, someone may be able to help you solve your mystery. 

There area  couple of other people who are also researching this surname though niether of them have been on rootschat for some time. Still, you may wish to contact them. On the bar at the top of the page is "Surnames" - this is where you can add your names, check for others researching the same names as you etc. Good luck.

[ourmike]

Thanks for the link Ruskie.

I'm still blowing the dust off my notes and re-exploring so I'm not ready yet to ask specific questions, I'm more interested for now in the general issue of the possible variations in the name.

At a time when many of the people concerned couldn't write their own names I think it's a case of how the same sound was spelt rather than how the same letter was pronounced.

If I spoke my name to a vicar in Charmouth and he wrote "Gordge" and a vicar in Wareham wrote "George" they would still be writing the same name/sound.

By the end of the 19th century when most of the people could write their own names, they would learn to write what the vicar/teacher told them to write, so the spelling of the name would crystallise with different spellings in different areas.

The current pronunciation of the name Gordge would give a clue as to whether Gordge and George could have had the same origin.

[Fennawright]

Hi

Seeing it written, I think I'd pronounce that Gorge (as in Cheddar Gorge)

But I can see someone spelling George that way too by sounding it out
and knowing the name starts with a G rather than a J.

So I think it's worth considering that some might have started from the
same as George.

Fennawright

[al b]

HI  WAS JUST GOING THROUGH BACK POSTS. MY GRANDMAS MOTHER'S MAIDEN NAME WAS GORDGE SOUNDS LIKE IT IS SPELLED SHE WAS FRENCH GRANDMA SAID SHE CALLED HER GRANDMA GORDGE.  LIKE GORD  HOPE THAT HELPS      AL B

[GORDGEOUS]

Hi There

My Name is Russell Gordge, the Gordge is pronounced exactly like the ravine, in the same way you would pronounce Forge. I believe it or ginally started as d'gorge, (french origin) but the "d" was placed in the middle after the french revolution to enable the family to fit into England.

I'm also aware that the name originates form Dukes and Early but from what era or date I'm not so sure

I hope this helps

Russell

[al b]

HI  I know for a fact you are on the money. Grand ma said her grand ma and grand pa were French and hardly spoke English. Never got there names as grandma died back in the early 70's Great gma was Mary Ann Gordge - Hodder- Gollop  Alb