While someone might have guessed or erred in naming parents, especially if the informant was a daughter-in-law or a young son who had never met August Anderegg's parents, it is unlikely that anybody would have completely made up names. Generally unknown parents in American sources are called "unknown," or the space on the certificate is left blank. If the names are wrong, the most likely explanation is that "John" and "Mary" are the anglicized form of their real names. If John and Mary were Swiss, their names were most likely Johannes and Maria, or Jean and Marie, or some other German or French version of "John" and "Mary". All versions of "John" and "Mary" with which I am familiar in western European cultures are easily recognized as variants of those names. I've found errors in American records, of course, but have never run into a case where people made up names out of thin air merely to be able to fill in a space on a certificate. Without knowing any more of the particular case, nobody can really give you any definite answers. Good luck with your ongoing search. Ardis > I have been searching the ANDEREGG surname, I received a death certificate > for August Anderegg from Lima Ohio. The information on it told me his > parents names were John and Mary, but I am beginning to think that this is > way off. I was wondering if they maybe made up names for parents of the > deceased if they didn't know? Can anyone help me on this? >