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General => The Common Room => Topic started by: waswigg on Sunday 02 December 18 18:02 GMT (UK)
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in my family our surname is Wright but in 1846 it went to Wigg and I have been able to prove that this happened although it was the other way round ie Wigg To Wright.
It seems as though the said person John Wright who's father was John Wright Wigg a saddler
just dropped the name Wigg and Kept it to John Wright he must have disliked the name wigg
waswigg
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Name changes can happen for any number of reasons.
In my research I've found:
- people who used the name of the person they were living with, though they were not married.
- a man who used his wife's maiden name in the censuses, though their children were all registered with his birth surname.
- people who "forgot" that they had previously married.
- a family who inherited an estate on condition that they changed their surname from MILLS to HOLT.
- a man who used the surnames STAFFORD and RAWSON but was actually a JONES. I've still no idea why.
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To add to Andrew's list:
A person who was illegitimate alternating between birth surname (ie mother's maiden name) and the biological father's surname (if known), or sometimes the surname of the man their mother later went on to marry ie their step father. On some records they use one surname and on others another.
It can sometimes be as simple as you say .... he didn't like the surname "Wigg". This happened in a family I am researching, and the story and reason for this was related by an elderly relative.
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I have a living relative who changed their surname when still at school ... took the phone book , shut eyes, opened book, put pencil on a name, opened eyes ... used that name at Uni, for marriage, work, voting, registering babies, and likely will be registered with it when dead.
JM
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I have a living relative who changed their surname when still at school ... took the phone book , shut eyes, opened book, put pencil on a name, opened eyes ... used that name at Uni, for marriage, work, voting, registering babies, and likely will be registered with it when dead.
JM
They took a bit of a risk JM. :)I hope they were lucky and landed on a good name. It could have been a disaster.
Unless the pencil landed on a couple of dud names and kept trying till they found a name they liked.
Did they have any issues when official documents like birth certificates were required for marriage or passports?
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He married in New South Wales in the 1970s and in that era you could be married without needing certified proof of identity, particularly if you were known to the clergy. When he sought passport he provided proof of name change .... certified copy of NSW BDM marriage cert ... it shows his parents details including all names for both parents, plus his age at marriage and place of birth and bis former name .... as in James John SURNAME formerly UNSURNAME... and his NSWBDM birth cert ... which of course is not a document that is available for anyone to purchase ... :) He is used to admin staff asking for proof of name change in this century .... but he enjoys the attention in telling the tale in how he chose the new name ... he is one of my 'go to' elderly rellies for help with tricky Rchat issues ... a retired archivist ... :) with a passion for 19th century NSW history... :)
It is still legal in NSW to become known by another name/s without any formal deed... provided that you are not attempting to deceive or defraud... of course banks, government etc would try to find ways to make it difficult but ... :)
JM
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Great story JM. :)
Did he change his name just "because he could", because he did not like his birth name, or was there a deeper reason?
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He did not like his surname ... and had been teased once too often by school teachers in the classroom ... his dad took a while to accept the change.
JM
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A long time ago a young man on the verge of a record career, called Harold Dorman, decided that his name wasn't fancy enough. He stuck pins in a map of the United States, and selected two names, and became Conway Twitty. He then became one of the most successful country singers of the next 30 odd years. He even started his own theme park, Twitty City.
Majm, your relative is lucky he didn't end up being called Area Code Enquiries.
Martin
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A long time ago a young man on the verge of a record career, called Harold Dorman, decided that his name wasn't fancy enough. He stuck pins in a map of the United States, and selected two names, and became Conway Twitty. He then became one of the most successful country singers of the next 30 odd years. He even started his own theme park, Twitty City.
Majm, your relative is lucky he didn't end up being called Area Code Enquiries.
Martin
Mr G says that his name was Harold Lloyd Jenkins !!! BUT Conway Twitty was wonderful IMHO as I'm old - "It's only make believe" (there isn't a smiley to represent my memories ;D ;D)
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Majm, your relative is lucky he didn't end up being called Area Code Enquiries.
Martin
No, the phone books did not include Area Codes in the era when my rellie used one to select new surname ... Trunk calls were handled by PMG Telephonistes until Subscriber Trunk Dialling (STD) commenced in the 1970s. :)
JM
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Perhaps the dropping of Wigg was a political statement!?