Can anyone explain the use of "dit" names by the French speaking community? I have come across them a few time in the various census records but because they do not apply to the lines that I am researched I have not paid much attention to them, figuring it was just a kind of alias. However, I saw two, fairly close together, in an 1825 census which were "Louis Gros dit St. Pierre" and "Antoine St. Pierre dit Gros". How does someone acquire a "dit" name? Why did they acquire one? What was the purpose behind it? I figure someone on this list must have some French blood in their ancestry and can educate us on this matter...