Why do they add extra names?

[Galium]

Today I am looking at the family of Charles Hobbs Tuckwell.  His wife was Mary Ann Smith. She was registered as Mary Ann Smith at birth. She was baptised as Mary Ann Smith, and signed the marriage register as Mary Ann Smith when she became Mary Ann Tuckwell. She died as Mary Ann Tuckwell.

At no point in her life is there a single record showing her as Mary Ann Agnes Smith or Tuckwell - except all the family trees on Ancestry, none of which can point to any justifying evidence for doing that.

This kind of thing seems to happen fairly often.  I'm not counting those who like to include a maiden name along with a woman's married name, even if that person doesn't seem to have used it; it makes a kind of sense to do so.  But why do people give their ancestors names that they never had?

[Kiltpin]

Well -

Middle Names = Middle Class   

A "Smith" was a worker, but a "Smythe" was management. 

There was a time when these things mattered a lot to people. 

Regards 

Chas

[carolynb]

Hi where the family catholic? When a catholic is confirmed they take another name known as a confirmation name. It is not to use on official things. In my family my father always used James Thomas and I can hear my mother saying to him you are not Thomas that’s your confirmation name  but before they met and he joined up for WW2 he joined as James Thomas. Just to add when I have looked at his father who was John he enlisted for WW1 as John James. So father and son both giving themselves an extra name .hope this might help Carolyn
By the way Agnes is a saints name that would be a popular choice for a young lady

[DianaCanada]

Have a similar situation in my family where a distant cousin converted to Catholicism just before she married, in the 1930’s.  FreeBMD included two middle initials, which threw me for awhile, but it was her.
I actually know someone who was baptized Anglican in her late teens and added another name at the time which gave her three forenames.

[coombs]

I have an ancestor who never had a middle name. James Edgington. Yet his burial says James William Edgington. All other records on this man never gave a middle name. He was born 1852, died 1927.

[Galium]

Hi where the family catholic?

I will bear that consideration in mind, but there are very few RC people in the families I research - and Mary Ann Smith/Tuckwell most certainly was not. 
I'd understand if there was evidence of the people acquiring an extra name in somebody's tree actually using it themselves at some time in their lives, but as with Mary Ann, there is none.

[DonM]

Ann Clubb Brown Williamson Margaret Mary McMurtrie

Born 03 Aug 1917 in Govan

Her two children just have one given name.  When she died her death reg. reads Agnes CBWMM; ms McMurtrie.  She signed letters and cards "Simply Aggie" but we knew who they were from.

Don

[youngtug]

Often just the result of people adding similarly named people and ending up with an amalgamation of different people.
An example is Ann Pitts born in Gloucestershire. A lot of trees on Ancestry have her with a second name of Elizabeth and also with a photo. A few years ago I tracked the photo  back through 8 trees to an American, Ann Elizabeth Pitts.

[Billyblue]

As has been asked - where the family Catholic?
I have five Christian names, but only three on the official record.

My mother wanted Dawn, which I'm known by. It's my second name.
My godmother (Mum's stern older sister) insisted her chosen name be my first name.  This is a real bugbear but at least when people ring me and ask to speak to (that name), it's probably a scam as they obviously don't know me.
My father wanted another name. 
So those three are on my Birth Certificate.
But when they got to the church for my baptism, the priest said 'She has to have a saint's name' and he added Anne.  And then when I was confirmed, I chose Cecilia as she is the patron of musicians and I fancied myself in that category.  (Didn't eventuate, though    )
Dawn M