John Hansen wrote: > > My father who's given name is "Jimmie" quickly chose to use Jim as > his name. As an adult, he assumed the name Jim. > > I had no problems finding records because he chose to identify > himself on legal doc's as "Jimmie". Because everyone knew him as > Jim, should I use that name in my family tree and other records? > Should this be considered a nickname or an AKA? Is there a right or > wrong way to handle this? It depends on the genealogy program you are using. In The Master Genealogist I can have both variations. I would normally make Jimmie the primary name as it is his real name and Jim a name variation or a nickname. bob gillis bob gillis <rpgillis@bellatlantic.net>