I have the following ancestors: Bernard Theisen dit Theis son: Jean Theisen dit Theis granddaughter: Anna Theis I understand that "dit" means "a.k.a." so Bernard and Jean went by Theis as their last name even though it was really Theis. Has anyone else come across this in their own research? What possible reasons could there be for going by a shortened last name? To distinguish themselves from other Theisen's in town, perhaps? Or maybe they are part of that Theisen family, but there were other people with similar names and so they did this to distinguish themselves? Or another possible reason? Also, this same question has come up on the Nebraska Roots rootsweb list for another person. Does the "dit" not pass along to female descendants? Awaiting the Knowledge of the List...:-) Sharon Sharon Kazmierski, Listowner, Latinteach & Latin E-mail Discussion Forums Check out the updated Latinteach Website! Join the Latinteach Webring! http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Styx/1790/index.html