Prince Edward Island Naming Customs: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 22:03, 25 February 2021

Canada Prince Edward Island, Canada Genealogy Prince Edward Island Names, Personal

An understanding of surnames and given names can help you identify your ancestors in the records.

Surnames: existence and inheritance[edit | edit source]

Canadians of European origin usually had surnames. First Nation citizens often did not. In French speaking areas married women usually kept their maiden name in official records. In English-speaking women usually took their husband’s surname. Children usually used the surname of the father.

Alias Surnames[edit | edit source]

Disambiguation[edit | edit source]

In French-speaking areas of Canada, individuals may have taken a second surname. In the records this may be preceded by dit. This common practice was to distinguish between families with common surnames like ROY who were not related at all, or to distinguish between branches of the same family. Sometimes a branch of the family adopted the dit name as the family name, and dropped the original surname. For example, the surname AUDET dit LAPOINTE may be listed in these ways:

AUDET, AUDET dit LAPOINTE, AUDET-LAPOINTE, LAPOINTE

See Dit Names in Canada for a collection of name variations for French-Canadian genealogical researchers.

Spelling variations[edit | edit source]

Spellings of surnames were not standardized until very recently. With their silent letters, French surnames especially lend themselves to a wide variety of spellings:

Boulanger, Bolanger, Bulanger
Roy, Le Roy, LeRoy, Leroy

In French Canada, phonetic spelling has changed names:

The English name Farnsworth became Phaneuf

Transliterations[edit | edit source]

When French Canadian families move to English-speaking areas, they may translate their names into English (anglicize their names):

Boulanger/Bolanger/Bulanger may become Baker
Boisvert may become Greenwood
Roy, Le Roy et cetera may become King
LeBlanc may become White

@@ Line 9: / Line 9: @@
 === Alias Surnames  ===
-In French-speaking areas of Canada, individuals may have taken a second surname. In the records this may be preceded by dit. This common practice was to distinguish between families with common surnames like ROY who were not related at all, or to distinguish between branches of the same family. Sometimes a branch of the family adopted the dit name as the family name, and dropped the original surname. For example, the surname AUDET dit LAPOINTE may be listed in these ways:
+==== Disambiguation ====
+In French-speaking areas of Canada, individuals may have taken a second surname. In the records this may be preceded by ''dit''. This common practice was to distinguish between families with common surnames like ROY who were not related at all, or to distinguish between branches of the same family. Sometimes a branch of the family adopted the dit name as the family name, and dropped the original surname. For example, the surname AUDET dit LAPOINTE may be listed in these ways:
 AUDET, AUDET dit LAPOINTE, AUDET-LAPOINTE, LAPOINTE
@@ Line 15: / Line 16: @@
 See [http://www.afgs.org/ditnames/index1.html Dit Names in Canada] for a collection of name variations for French-Canadian genealogical researchers.
-Spelling Variations. Spellings of surnames were not standardized until very recently. With their silent letters, French surnames especially lend themselves to a wide variety of spellings.
+==== Spelling variations ====
+Spellings of surnames were not standardized until very recently. With their silent letters, French surnames especially lend themselves to a wide variety of spellings:
-The name Boulanger has been written many ways including:
+* Boulanger, Bolanger, Bulanger
+* Roy, Le Roy, LeRoy, Leroy
-Bolanger, Bulanger, and the anglicized Baker.
 In French Canada, phonetic spelling has changed names:
-The English name FARNSWORTH became PHANEUF.
+* The English name Farnsworth became Phaneuf
-When French Canadian families move to English-speaking areas, they may translate their names into English, or modify spelling:
-BOISVERT may become GREENWOOD.
-ROY may become KING.
+==== Transliterations ====
+When French Canadian families move to English-speaking areas, they may translate their names into English (anglicize their names):
-LEBLANC may become WHITE.
+* Boulanger/Bolanger/Bulanger may become Baker
+* Boisvert may become Greenwood
+* Roy, Le Roy et cetera may become King
+* LeBlanc may become White
+===Further Reading===
 Most French Canadian and many Acadian family names and their dit-name equivalents are listed in: