Thomas 'Smiles' Taylor

[Mancunian194]

I'm trying to understand the use of 'Smiles' as a middle name.

Thomas Taylor was born 1835 in Haddington, Scotland, and died on 31st March 1902 in Chorlton, Manchester. 'Smiles' only appears in his entry in the death index, not in any census or other document I've found.

Often people use their mother’s maiden surname, or some past relative's surname, as their middle name but this doesn’t appear to be the case; at least, I can’t prove it!

Can anyone shed any light on this?

[KGarrad]

Could it be a nickname he was well known by?

[Mancunian194]

Hi,

It might be a nickname but would that get put on his death registration?

regards

[heatherjulie]

Could it be Miles? Misheard?

[despair]

There are a number of "Smiles" surname records for Haddington.What resources have you used to look for a connection?

Regards
Roger

[Ruskie]

Out of curiosity I entered the first name "Smiles" into freebmd, and there are one or two. Entering "Smile" throws up quite a few, including Smiley, which is a surname. You may find similar in Scotland.

If it is a surname it may not be a family name - he could have been named after anyone, and you may never find an obvious connection.

Added: Having a quick look at the index on Scotland's People I see that there are quite a number of Smiles around the ridges. 

Who was the informant at his death? They may have got it wrong. It can happen.  Have you looked at all the original documents (births, censuses, marriage, death), to see if the middle name or even an initial is noted elsewhere?

[CaroleW]

Were his parents Peter Taylor and Rachel Dunbar?  Scottish 1841 has a Thomas Taylor aged 5 living in  Haddington

Haddington ED 5A Page 2 Line 1010

[Mancunian194]

Hi,

Thanks for the various replies. My research has included Ancestry, Findmypast, freebmd, freereg, etc.

This is the Thomas Taylor, son of Peter Taylor and Rachel Dunbar. The various census returns just show him as Thomas Taylor, no 'S' or 'Smiles' entered. The death registration is the only document I've seen that includes 'Smiles'.

Smiles seemed to have been a common surname in Haddington at the time but I just can't see where it came from in this instance unless it's an old surname on his mother's side. No previous or future Taylor had 'Smiles' in their name.

Regards

[nanny jan]

A copy of his death certificate will show the informant who gave the details, including the middle name.