GENEALOGY RESOURCES 
What’s in a Nickname?

Many of our ancestors are identified by a formal name in one census and by a nickname in the next census. This can cause confusion and leave you wondering if you have the right family. 1900’s Francis may be “Frank” in 1910 and “Franny” in 1920.

photo: QHGS

A good example of this is your QHGS Blogger’s grandmother, Mary Wilhelmina Little. Mary was never called anything other than “Minnie” during her lifetime. The only place where her formal name “Mary Wilhelmina” appears is on her baptismal record.

RESEARCH TIP: If you have been wondering which nicknames go with which formal names, here are a few resources to help you find out.

Family Tree Magazine: http://familytreemagazine.com/article/Your-Female-Ancestors-Nicknames

About Genealogy: 

http://genealogy.about.com/cs/surname/a/nicknames.htm and http://genealogy.about.com/library/bl_nicknames.htm

FamilySearch: https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Traditional_Nicknames_in_Old_Documents_-_A_Wiki_List

U. S. GenWeb: http://usgenweb.org/research/nicknames.shtml