Those are French. It is not a German form. Widespread in Quebec, Canada and France. W. David Samuelsen S. Kazmierski wrote: > > 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 > > ==== TRIER-ROOTS Mailing List ==== > Greatest Christmas Gift Ever! > Support RootsWeb! Help provide FREE genealogical resources on the > Internet: http://www.rootsweb.com/rootsweb/how-to-subscribe.html