FYI In Germany there are surnames similar to French dit names. They are used to identify a specific person or family line when a surname is very common in the area. They are sometimes also created from farm names. I descend from the porcelain-making Greiner family from the Thüringen area of Germany. Because there were so many Greiner families, there are many gennant names in the records. Gennant means "known as" or called. I put the name in the surname field. Examples are:
Greiner Genannt "Unzi" (the original record used the quotes but that is a problem in some database situations) Greiner Genannt Beck Greiner Genannt Fuchs Greiner Genannt Hans Greiner Genannt Kleinhans Greiner Gennant "Hasenfrieder" Greiner Gennant Bäsenschwarz So, in the given name field I might have Johann Michael Günther and in the surname field Greiner Gennant Bäsenschwarz. Mary E. V. Hill On Sun, Mar 28, 2010 at 5:29 PM, Mary Hartmann Bowden <mebow...@cox.net>wrote: > Thanks Charlie, > > That was a good explanation. > > > > Mary in AZ > > *mebow...@cox.net* <mebow...@cox.net>** > > http://community.webshots.com/user/mequilter > > *http://mequilter.blogspot.com/* > > > > My Genealogy Blog > > http://meandmyancestors.blogspot.com/ > > View my genealogy queries: > > http://cousinconnect.com/p/a/0/u/221586/ > > > > > > > > > > > > > > *From:* Charles W Aubin [mailto:cwaub...@telus.net] > *Sent:* Sunday, March 28, 2010 2:20 PM > *To:* LegacyUserGroup@LegacyUsers.com > *Subject:* Re: [LegacyUG] > > > > Hi Charles: > > The following is the explanation from about genealogy. > > > > Hope this helps, Charlie Aubin > Understanding Dit names > > Tuesday July 14, 2009 > > Found primarily in France, New France (French-Canada, Louisiana, etc.), and > Scotland, *dit names* are essentially an alias tacked on to a family name > or surname. *Dit* in French is a form of the word *dire*, which means "to > say," and in the case of dit names is translated loosely as "that is to > say," or "called." Therefore, the first name is the family's original > surname, passed down to them by an ancestor, while the "dit" name is the > name the person/family is actually called or known as. Dit names are used by > families, not specific individuals, and are usually passed down to future > generations, either in place of the orginal surname, or in addition to it. > > Why a dit name? Dit names were often adopted by families to distinguish > them from another branch of the same family. Interestingly, many dit names > derived from military > service<http://www.histori.ca/prodev/article.do;jsessionid=99CC289EF7487A2AD82B6DED619FA34B.tomcat1?id=15346>, > where early French military rules required a *nom de guerre*, or nickname, > for all regular soldiers. The specific dit name may have been chosen for > many of the same reasons as the original surname - as a nickname based on > trade or physical characteristics, to identify the ancestral place of origin > (Andre Jarret de Beauregard, where Beauregard refers to the ancestral home > in the French province of Dauphine), etc. > > A dit name can be legally used to replace the family's original surname, so > you may find an individual listed with a dit name, or under either the > original surname or the dit name. Dit names may also be found reversed with > the original surname, or as hyphenated surnames. > > - Hudon dit Beaulieu > - Beaulieu dit Hudon > - Hudon Beaulieu > - Beaulieu Hudon > - Hudon-Beaulieu > - Beaulieu-Hudon > - Hudon > - Beaulieu > > When recording a dit name in your family tree software, it is generally > standard practice to record it in its most common form - e.g. *Hudon dit > Beaulieu*. A standardized list of dit names with their common variants can > be found in Rene Jette's *Répertoire des Noms de Famille du Québec" des > Origines à 1825* and Msgr Cyprien Tanguay's *Dictionnaire genealogique des > familles canadiennes* (Volume 7). Another extensive source is *The dit > Name: French Canadian Surnames, Aliases, Adulterations, and Anglicizations > * by Robert J. Quentin. When the name is not found in one of the above > sources, you can use a phone book (Québec City or Montréal) to select the > most common form, or just record it in the form most often used by your > ancestors. > > ----- Original Message ----- > > *From:* Charles Apple <apple1...@embarqmail.com> > > *To:* LegacyUserGroup@LegacyUsers.com > > *Sent:* Sunday, March 28, 2010 12:43 PM > > *Subject:* RE: [LegacyUG] > > > > Excuse my ignorance, but, what is a dit name? > > > > Charles > > > ------------------------------ > > *From:* Lee Martin [mailto:equinephi...@yahoo.com] > *Sent:* Sunday, March 28, 2010 9:31 AM > *To:* LegacyUserGroup@LegacyUsers.com > *Subject:* [LegacyUG] > > How does one record dit names? I have French and Canadian-French ancestry > plus Quebec church records showing the dit names. > > > > __________ Information from ESET Smart Security, version of virus signature > database 4980 (20100328) __________ > > The message was checked by ESET Smart Security. > > http://www.eset.com > > > Legacy User Group guidelines: > http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp > Archived messages after Nov. 21 2009: > http://www.mail-archive.com/legacyusergroup@legacyusers.com/ > Archived messages from old mail server - before Nov. 21 2009: > http://www.mail-archive.com/legacyusergr...@legacyfamilytree.com/ > Online technical support: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Help.asp > To unsubscribe: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/LegacyLists.asp > > > > Legacy User Group guidelines: > http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp > Archived messages after Nov. 21 2009: > http://www.mail-archive.com/legacyusergroup@legacyusers.com/ > Archived messages from old mail server - before Nov. 21 2009: > http://www.mail-archive.com/legacyusergr...@legacyfamilytree.com/ > Online technical support: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Help.asp > To unsubscribe: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/LegacyLists.asp > > > Legacy User Group guidelines: > http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp > Archived messages after Nov. 21 2009: > http://www.mail-archive.com/legacyusergroup@legacyusers.com/ > Archived messages from old mail server - before Nov. 21 2009: > http://www.mail-archive.com/legacyusergr...@legacyfamilytree.com/ > Online technical support: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Help.asp > To unsubscribe: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/LegacyLists.asp > <http://www.legacyfamilytree.com/LegacyLists.asp> > -- maryevh...@gmail.com Legacy User Group guidelines: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp Archived messages after Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/legacyusergroup@legacyusers.com/ Archived messages from old mail server - before Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/legacyusergr...@legacyfamilytree.com/ Online technical support: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Help.asp To unsubscribe: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/LegacyLists.asp
