Why change a christian name?

[Tephra]

All very confusing what to have on my gravestone I do not know
"Here lies somebody she knows not who"

Very confusing Kathleen/Sandra, maybe you could just put "Take your Pick"       


Barbara                   

[jacquelineve]

 I am two years older than my sister, and did'nt know her
christian name until she started school.

    Grandad decided to give her the nickname Randy
(after the boxer Randy Turpin) she is now 53 and still
 called R by family), it's caused a few chuckles over the
years.
                        Jackie.

[HeatherB]

How interesting I notice that whenever a heroic deed was done that that name was introduced into a lot of families especially children born the year of a battle being named after the commander, this often gave researchers the impression they were related to the hero.

Mine was changed for a much more mundane reason my grandparents didn't like Amy thought Heather was a better name to go with Douglas.

Cheers Heather

[miracula]

In the Diocesan and Prerogative Marriages Licence Bonds entries on the nationalarchives Ireland website is a marriage between William Acheson and Anne Patten and as well of Charles Achison and Catherine Patten both of 1814 in the Diocese of Cashel and Emly, see http://census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/dm/IRE_DIOC_007246528_00007.pdf
Was the change of the surname happening in context with one of these marriages? - I myself have ancestors with the surname Acheson (also other spellings possible) in the Co. Tipperary and Waterford.

[eadaoin]

My great grandmother Mary Ann was always known as Polly, the reasons for which are lost in the mists of time.

POLLY was a fairly common "pet" name for Mary in 1800s Ireland, not as common as Molly, May, Maisie, Mamie.
Maybe because it rhymed with MOLLY

[DianaCanada]

Polly was a nickname for Mary in England, as was Peggy for Margaret, Patty for Martha, well documented from earlier centuries.  Something about the pronunciation of M and P changing over time  but I can’t remember exactly how now!

[Rena]

It took me forever to find one of my OHs ancestors named Daniel McCarthy born in Cardiff.

Luckily I knew his bride's name and I eventually found the marriage by just searching for the two surnames in the freebmd index.  Daniel had become Dennis.

I knew the year of the ancestor's death but it didn't appear in the town's death list.  Then I spied a death entry for Daniel Dennis McCarthy.

He was a Catholic and I've only recently learnt that given names can be changed when they're confirmed.