Dear List, What came to mind with our discussion of the various usage of P and B interchanging in the spelling of surnames, was the name Habsburg. A visiting friend from Hungary who now has her doctorate in International History, many years ago bristled at the spelling Hapsburg. I wasn't sure how this example lent it's self towards our List's conversation and what could be learned from it, so I decided to look it up. One reason for the exchange of letters is what was in vogue and more interestingly, why it was in vogue: http://www.hapsburg.com/about.htm HAPSBURG NOMENCLATURE Then name Hapsburg has many variations: Hapsburgh, Habsburg, Habisburch etc.  Since the family has been in existence for half a millenium such variations in spelling are expected (as language evolves and changes through time and geography).  Origination from a castle named 'Habichtsburg' built by Bishop Wener of Strasbourg (which is located on the Aar river in present day Switzerland), in 1020 C.E., the name translated from medieval German literally means 'Hawk's Castle.' Today, the Austrian descendants, and most of the academic community,  use the 'Habsburg' spelling.  I've opted for the 'Hapsburg' variation, one that was in vogue pre-1980 when much of the focus was on the Spanish branch of the family, for practical  reasons, namely that the domain hapsburg was available and habsburg was not.  For the purposes of this project the actual spelling of the name is secondary in importance and should not hinder the reader's understanding of the facts or arguments. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Marika

To the list, Marika perfectly emphasizes my basic point, which is, simply, do not allow yourself to become "hung up" on spelling. Never assume that somebody's not yours if the name isn't spelled the way you expect. My surname is only five letters long, and I've seen it spelled at least a dozen different ways on various records. Jim Quoting MLPecsi@aol.com: > Dear List, > > What came to mind with our discussion of the various usage of P and B > interchanging in the spelling of surnames, was the name Habsburg. A visiting > friend > from Hungary who now has her doctorate in International History, many years > ago > bristled at the spelling Hapsburg. > > I wasn't sure how this example lent it's self towards our List's conversation > > and what could be learned from it, so I decided to look it up. One reason > for the exchange of letters is what was in vogue and more interestingly, why > it > was in vogue: > > http://www.hapsburg.com/about.htm > > HAPSBURG NOMENCLATURE > > Then name Hapsburg has many variations: Hapsburgh, Habsburg, Habisburch etc.  > > Since the family has been in existence for half a millenium such variations > in spelling are expected (as language evolves and changes through time and > geography).  Origination from a castle named 'Habichtsburg' built by Bishop > Wener > of Strasbourg (which is located on the Aar river in present day Switzerland), > > in 1020 C.E., the name translated from medieval German literally means > 'Hawk's > Castle.' > > Today, the Austrian descendants, and most of the academic community,  use the > > 'Habsburg' spelling.  I've opted for the 'Hapsburg' variation, one that was > in vogue pre-1980 when much of the focus was on the Spanish branch of the > family, for practical  reasons, namely that the domain hapsburg was available > and > habsburg was not.  For the purposes of this project the actual spelling of > the > name is secondary in importance and should not hinder the reader's > understanding of the facts or arguments. > ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, > > Marika > > >