Hello Sue Could there possibly have been another nickname for Mary? I am searching for my mothers great grandmother Mary Gray from Northern Ireland, her daughter married a fellow from Wigtownshire; it is like looking for a needle in a haystack! ann claggett delta ----- Original Message ----- From: "Sue V" <genealgal2@execulink.com> > Forwarded from the Wigtownshire list - > > Forename Variants > Variations in forenames are very common in the records. The name by which > a > person was born or christened, might look very different when they married > or died. For example, Elizabeth might be known and/or recorded as > Elisabeth, > Eliza, Betty, Betsy, Beth, Bessie, Elspeth, Elsie, to name but a few. Some > of the influences brought to bear on Scottish forenames are indicated > below. > > Abbreviations, Diminutives, Nicknames/pet names > Records are full of abbreviated forms of some forenames, e.g. William > might > be recorded as Will, Wm. or Willm., Charles as Chas., Margaret as Margt. > or > Mgt., James as Jas., Alexander as Alexr., and so on. > Also, diminutives, nicknames and pet names, if habitually in use, might be > recorded instead of the proper name, e.g. Euphan/Eupham/Effy for Euphemia, > Katie/Kate/Kath/Kathy for Katherine, Jamie/Jimmy/Jim for James, > Maggie/Meg/Peggy for Margaret, Alec/Alex/Sandy/Eck for Alexander, Dod for > George. > > This is particularly prevalent in the Old Parish Register records, and > probably more so in smaller parishes, where the person recording the > information, usually the session clerk or the minister, would know the > families in the area. > > Anglicising forenames > It was very common for registrars in Gaelic-speaking areas of the > Highlands > and Western Isles to anglicise common Gaelic forenames, for instance > recording Morag as Mary, Iain as John and Hamish as James. Gaelic-speaking > families themselves, who migrated to urban areas, may also have anglicised > their names. > > Ambiguous names > Names that, today, we would normally associate with boys were occasionally > (mainly in the North of Scotland) given to girls and vice versa, for > example, Nicholas. Christian, viewed as a boy's name today, was quite a > common girl's name in Scotland, and used as an alternative to Christina. > > Sometimes during indexing of the Old Parish Registers, it was unclear from > the name whether the child was male or female, particularly if the entry > recorded "child of" instead of "son of" or "daughter of". Further > confusion > would arise if the name had been abbreviated and that abbreviated form > could > apply equally to a boy or a girl, e.g. Willm. might be William or > Williamina. In such cases, a "U" for unstated was entered in the index to > ensure that the wrong sex was not attributed. These "U" values are > included > in all Male, Female or Both Sex searches. > > Many boys' names were transformed into girls' names by adding "ina", e.g. > Thomasina, Georgina, Hughina, Jamesina, Williamina. These names might be > abbreviated to Ina in later life. Williamina might become Mina. > > Interchangeable names > Some names are completely interchangeable e.g. Agnes and Nancy, Donald and > Daniel. Jane could be recorded as Jean, Jessie or Janet. > > Early spellings may vary from later ones , e.g. Jannet, Jhonet, Jonat, > Jonnet or Jonet instead of Janet, Margrat or Margret for Margaret, Henrie > for Henry, Andro or Androw for Andrew, Alisoun, Alesoune, Alisone for > Alison. > > Traditional naming patterns > Scots often named children by following a simple set of rules: > > 1st son named after father's father > 2nd son named after mother's father > 3rd son named after father > 1st daughter named after mother's mother > 2nd daughter named after father's mother > 3rd daughter named after mother > > Although this was not universally applied (some families adhered strictly, > others "dabbled" and still others ignored it), it can still be helpful in > determining the correct entry when confronting the relative lack of > information in the OPR's. It can also give rise to great confusion when > eight children of the same family in a small parish name their offspring > according to convention! The use of traditional naming patterns gradually > declined during the 19th century. > > The application of naming conventions and the general desire to ensure > that > a family forename perpetuated through the generations, sometimes led to > duplication of forenames within a family. For example, where a family > wished > to adhere strictly to the traditional naming pattern, and both > grandfathers > bore the same forename, that name might be given to more than child. If a > child died young, parents might name a later child after the dead sibling. > In unfortunate cases, the name may have been used more than once. > > Sometimes there appears to be no rhyme or reason to the naming: a child > might be named after the minister, an employer, an influential personage > in > the community or a close friend, who might appear as a witness to the > birth. > Witnesses are not always given in OPR entries, but where they are, > sometimes > (as in Dundee) you will find their relationship to child, if any, noted, > e.g. "Charles Jobson, grandfather", "Mrs Janet Speid, father's mother". > > Middle names > The existence of a middle name can be extremely helpful to the family > historian. Parents might use the mother or a grandmother's maiden name as > a > child's middle name. However, do not assume that this name will appear in > all subsequent records pertaining to that child. Consider also the > possibility that a person might use his/her middle name as the first name > in > later life and be recorded as such.

Ann My aunt Mary was known her whole life, even on her burial service card, as Molly. Took me a while to realise that the Mary I was coming across in the birth indexes was her. Anne McLellan -----Original Message----- From: Ann Claggett [mailto:ann42@dccnet.com] Sent: Sunday, 22 January 2006 5:49 p.m. To: SCT-ISLAY-L@rootsweb.com Subject: [SCT-ISLAY] forenames and patterns Hello Sue Could there possibly have been another nickname for Mary? I am searching for my mothers great grandmother Mary Gray from Northern Ireland, her daughter married a fellow from Wigtownshire; it is like looking for a needle in a haystack! ann claggett delta -----