Entering Unknown or Incomplete Names in Genealogy

Entering unknown or incomplete names in genealogy for instances such as a wife's unknown name or maiden name, a child or stillborn child's incomplete or unknown name, incomplete or unknown names of enslaved individuals, FNU (first name unknown) instances, and other situations can be complicated to address.

Unknown or Incomplete Names

In many early records the names of women and children are not provided, and substitute names used in Family Tree must be inferred from a careful reading of the document. For example, a probate may refer to a man's wife as "John Smith's widow", or another record may state a couple had "two sons and three daughters."

In cases like these records can be created in Family Tree following the instructions based on the conditions below. Create the individual's record with correct gender. The titles "Miss" and "Mister" (and their language equivalents) should only be used when a given name is known. A title and surname only are not valid. Substitute names such as "stillborn" or "unknown" (and their language equivalents) should not be used.

Condition 1. Husband's name is known, but wife's name is incomplete.

Case	Solution
Maiden name unknown	1. Enter only wife's given name 2. Enter Mrs. as title and the husband's names as hers
Given name unknown	Enter only the wife's surname

Condition 2. The names of one or both of the parent's are known, but the child's complete name is unknown.

Case	Solution
Given name unknown	Enter only the surname

See also How do I format names to avoid the "Needs more information" error when reserving ordinances?.