A useful document containing a little history: (Scotland) Extract from .pdf document http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/files/history.pdf As to the term "illegitimate" The use of the term "illegitimate" in column 1 of the birth and death registers was discontinued from 1919 (Registrar General's amending regulation to registrars, 19 December 1918). The regulation applied not only to new entries in the registers but also to the issuing of extracts from earlier records which were issued without the word "illegitimate" appearing. Registrars still kept a careful record of the numbers of illegitimate births in their district to include in the statistical returns submitted to the Registrar General. Janet