Posting this message to multiple lists. Originally posted to Co.Tipperary lists so much of the information relates to Irish records, but generally the issue is a universal one. -------------------------------------------- The whole issue of the spelling and pronunciation of names is in this day and age a very precise business, but 200 years ago the opposite could have been said. The following is a collage of several relevant messages recently posted to the rootsweb Co.Tipperary lists, by Richard Callanan and myself. The first time the average person would have their name recorded anywhere was a Baptism or Marriage record, and these records are generally the earliest available to search. Baptism and Marriage records. First names. In early Church records the Gaelic first names were spelt in the Latin equivalent, or what the Priest decided was the equivalent, additionally the name had to be that of a recognised saint, i.e. 'a Christian name'. For example Sean became John, Liam/William, Eamon/Edward, Siobhan/Johanna, Mairead/Margaret, Maire/Mary. The following is Richard Callanan's example of first name variations. 'The registers may well show names the people themselves never used. I have a plethora of "Cornelius" entries which I am sure were properly the traditional Irish "Connor" "Conor" or "Conn". The registering priest's requirement was not only to latinise the name but to make it a recognisable Saint. The most obvious distortion here is "Honoria" - a Roman saint - used for the Irish original "Nora" and other variants (because there wasn't a "Saint Nora"!). The problem is compounded by people believing that these Latin concoctions were in fact their real names so they also begin to use them in formal circumstances such as gravestones. There is a good article on first names by Jane Lyons at http://www.sci.net.au/userpages/mgrogan/cork/jane_names.htm' Surnames. Surnames were spelt in English, as there was no Latin equivalent. In the early 19th century the majority of the population were effectively illiterate, and as such they would have had little idea of how their name should be spelt in their native Gaelic let alone English or Latin. There was no 'Standard' concerning spelling generally and certainly not when the subject was the conversion of a Gaelic surname into English. McLysaghts books on Irish Surnames weren't available in the early 19th century. This lack of any standards of translation and spelling would explain the wide variations in spelling of surnames, and confusion about the 'tribal' origin of the family. The following is an example of surname spelling variations in my Dowling family. 'James Dooling (who was James Dowling when he died in Australia) Married Mary Sullivan. Their children were Baptised in Ballylooby Co Tipperary as Dooling, Doolin, Dooly, Doolan, Dowling, Douling and Doolon. It would appear the spelling was entirely at the whim of the Priest, and it was the same Priest who Baptised one child as Dooly and another as Doolan!' Whether these people were historically Dooleys, Doolens, Doolans, or Dowlings is neither here nor there, and impossible to pursue. The pronunciation of any of the names (in this part of Tipperary) is the same regardless of the spelling, 'DO LEN', quite a surprise I must say when I discovered I hadn't been pronouncing my name correctly! This variation of spelling is quite typical amongst my Tipperary ancestors and I would assume typical enough amongst other 'uncommon' names which hadn't attracted a standardized spelling. My Hylands were also Healan, Heelan, and Healam. Names with 'standardized' spelling I would give as examples are, Kelly, Ryan, Murphy, Sullivan, Butler, Bourke (Burke!). The spelling of those surnames doesn't seem to be all that open to variation, probably because they were so common, or prominent that they attracted a standardized spelling. There is also the possibility of simple mistakes in spelling on other documents such as ships passengers lists. Bourke and Rourke immediately come to mind as names which could easily be mistaken as being the same. Transcribing mistakes are also another factor. Different researchers have presented different spellings for the same Baptism or Marriage record. I wonder how accurately the typed names in some sections of the Griffiths Valuation were transcribed from the hand-written 'House Books' and 'Field Books'. Aliases. I only know of one example of this. For reasons unknown a branch of my Tipperary Dowlings decided in the 1840s to change their name to Kelly. The descendants who came to Australia were Kellys, others who came later were Dowling-Kellys. At least one family member who stayed behind stuck with Dowling. I guess it's neither here nor there whether you pronounce and spell your name correctly or even that you can be confident of which ancient name you are descended from. What is of utmost importance to us as genealogists is that by researching for names that only exactly match the current day spelling of your name, you are surely missing out on tracking down countless relatives and ancestors. My missing link to family still living in Ireland was a Stephen Dooling born about 1860 or so. If I could find his parents names I could establish my relationship with people still living in Tipperary. After 15 years I found his baptism record when I widened the search parameters to include more abstract spellings of Dooling. When I finally located him his surname was spelt Dolan. Cheers Mick Dowling Melbourne Australia ============================== To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237