NAMING THE HORDES

One of the problems when researching family history is the spelling of surnames, which can vary in one persons lifetime.  My name, Dennell, has been spelled in various ways - Dennill, Dennull, Pennell, Bennell and Donnell being just a few!

Of course nowadays everyone is literate, well 99% of us are, that is.  But before the Second World War literacy was only at about 75% so if the person themselves did not know how to spell their name how could they correct anyone else?

During the 1930s literacy rates did rise but not to a big extent and not for everyone.

In the recession it was needed for children to leave school as soon as legally allowed, and work even before then, to aid the family finances.  In villages where the school was dependent on the landowner and the only jobs were in service at the manor house, it was considered adequate to only be able to write one’s name and be able to read the bible. No consideration was given to spelling or even mathematics. So much for the 3 R’s!

While we are talking about the spoken name, we can’t discount accents as the ‘Queens English’ didn’t exist until the 1940s and then only spoken by the aristocracy. As an example speaking with a regional accent nowadays is looked down upon by the middle and upper classes.  Accents did account for many discrepancies, try saying the name you are researching with different accents and you will soon see.

Many researchers believe there are patterns in naming children but that is not necessarily the case.  Children were named after favourite brothers/sisters and even uncles/aunts, therefore creating generations of the same name.  Sometimes even to remember the dead, not only naming the next born the same as the dead child, but also a dead aunt/uncle could be remembered that way .

In the 19^th century it became popular to use the mother’s maiden name as another Christian name, which works well for anyone searching.  

It was common practice to use the father’s surname as part of the Christian name in illegitimate births, especially considering that even today an unmarried father has to be present to allow his name to be put on the birth certificate.