Sheila Tryk wrote: > My great-grandmother was listed in 1843 in Methven, > Perthshire, on her marriage as Christiana Menzies. > Maybe the minister had Spanish blood, as she certainly > didn't! The rest of the time she was Christian or Christina. _________________________________________________ Hi Sheila While the form of the name 'Christiana' might seem to be Spanish, there is no evidence that it is. It was in use in England, & possibly elsewhere in the UK, in medieval times. As I said last week, it is a feminine form of the then popular male name 'Christian' although that has almost always been female in Scotland in recent centuries. Is it possible that the marriage entry for your ggm was written with a flourish and the final 'a' is a misread? Incidentally, 'Christina' is also an English spelling. The Spanish is 'Cristina' which is also Portuguese and Italian. The 'h' makes all the difference. Blame early scholars transcribing the Greek 'chi'. And, a little aside: unless your family were RC, it seems unlikely that a Minister of the Kirk would be Spanish. But you never know! Maybe you've found a new thread! Re Sara Thomas's suggestion to use Soundex: Certainly it should have found many variants as Soundex ignores vowels except as an initial letter. FAQ6 at http://www.whatsinaname.net/faq.html#6 outlines it, with a link to an authoritative explanation. Best wishes Ray Hennessy www.whatsinaname.net