To add a nickname to your Ancestry® Family Tree, record names in their natural order and use quotes after the first given name. Avoid using it in place of a given name and do not enclose it in parentheses. You can add multiple versions of a person’s name, including married names, nicknames, aliases, and other variations, from the person page or first ancestor view.
To add a nickname, go to the person’s profile page in your family tree and tap the + in a green circle. Tap Type > Custom Fact (Android) or Choose Type > Put each part of the name in the correct field Title—Use Title for words like “Count” or “Mister”. You can leave the title field blank.
To add a nickname for an individual in your family tree, follow these steps:
- Log in to your family site.
- Click on the ‘Family Tree’ tab.
- Open your family tree in the Family Tree Builder software.
- Find the person whom you would like to add a nickname for.
- Click on the ‘Edit’ button and also known as.
- Click the Add Fact button on the Person Tab.
- Select the Also Known As fact type from the list.
- Type the nickname (without quotes) in the Name field of the Family Tree Maker.
- In the Information Panel, click in the Name field and add your suffix.
In summary, when entering names into your Ancestry® Family Tree, be mindful of variations, official changes, nicknames, titles, and suffixes. Use quotes after the first name and avoid using invalid punctuation or characters.
| Article | Description | Site |
|---|---|---|
| Best way to document nicknames in ancestry.com trees? | The standard is to put the nickname, in quotes, after the first name (in the first name field). Following the standard makes it easier to share … | reddit.com |
| Entering names in your Ancestry® Family Tree | Adding a nickname · Go to the person’s profile page in your family tree. · Click on the Facts tab, then select + Add in the Facts column. · In the drop-down menu, … | support.ancestry.com |
| How do I enter names in Family Tree? | Here are guidelines to help you enter names correctly in Family Tree. Select the correct language template. | familysearch.org |
📹 Many Names, One Person: Data Entry Tips for All that Information Ancestry
Hannah Maria Ericsdotter is the daughter of Eric Hansen. When she immigrated to the United States as a child with her brothers …
How Do I Add Someone To My Family Tree?
To add someone to your Ancestry® Family Tree, refer to the guide on Adding People to a Tree. When entering names, consider variations, official changes, nicknames, and suffixes. To add a person, connect them to an existing family member, such as adding your father to your personal tree. For example, to add your uncle, first add your grandparent as your father's parent and then your uncle as another child. Use the Tools feature to save profiles directly to your tree.
To add parents or spouses, navigate to the person's page and use the Spouses or Parents tab, then select the appropriate Add button. You can also link parents directly from the First Ancestor view. Ancestry DNA members must be invited to join a tree to link DNA results. Start your tree by clicking Add Relative and choosing the relationship type. To remove a relationship, use the "Edit this person" option in the profile and select Remove.
For mobile users, access the list of recently viewed people to add unconnected relatives. Utilize the '+’ sign on an individual's card to add family members easily. You can create trees on both paid sites and free platforms.
How Do I Enter A Person With An Unknown Name Into Family Tree?
When adding a person to Family Tree, a name is mandatory, but historical records occasionally do not provide the full name of a family member. Here’s how to document someone with an unknown name: use terms such as Mrs., Mr., or Miss in the Title field, not in the First or Last Name fields. Enter the family name or surname in the Last Name field, using a woman's maiden name if she changed her surname after marriage. If the individual lacks a last name, simply enter the father's surname or family name.
Do not use first names or titles in the Last Name field. For undocumented mothers or wives, enter the known married name using the Title field as "Mrs." Enter the birth name in the given name field, regardless of any other names by which the person may have been known. Go to FAMILY TREE on FamilySearch, click RECENTS, and select ADD UNCONNECTED at the bottom of the drop-down menu. When adding, ensure you use the last name at birth to record original family ties.
If the maiden name is unknown, the surname field can be left blank, or you could utilize five underscores to avoid leaving it empty. Creating the record correctly and utilizing alternative methods ensures accurate relationships in the family tree.
How Do I Enter A Nickname?
There are various methods for entering nicknames. One approach is typing the nickname in quotation marks with the name (e. g., Echo "Peggy" Terry). While this method works, it can cause errors in Family Tree Maker (FTM). Instead, using a nickname generator can be more efficient and enjoyable. Simply type in your name, a friend’s name, or any keyword to generate unique nicknames. The online generator allows you to customize options like length or first letter, utilizing advanced AI to create personalized results based on your traits or interests.
For social media platforms like Instagram, you can also set nicknames by selecting the user in a chat and tapping their username. In Family Tree, nicknames can be added directly after the official name and are typically enclosed in quotation marks. Additionally, you can edit nicknames on devices like Pixels and iPhones through their settings. This flexibility in entering and managing nicknames can enhance your social interactions and digital identity across various platforms, providing a fun way to engage with friends and family.
How Do I Enter Names Into My Ancestry® Family Tree?
When inputting names into your Ancestry® Family Tree, it’s crucial to consider variations, official changes, nicknames, titles, and suffixes. Name variations include different spellings or shortened forms, like William as Bill or Robert as Bob. Always use the individual’s last name at birth, such as maiden names for women, to maintain original family connections despite any subsequent name changes due to marriage or other reasons.
It’s also essential to format names correctly to avoid errors like "Needs more information" when reserving ordinances. Different cultures have unique naming conventions, which can affect data entry.
When adding a person, you need to link them to someone in your tree; for example, add a father to yourself. Enter full birth names whenever possible and omit married names, as they are implied through spouses. For a married woman, enter her given name while leaving her maiden name blank. Standardizing formats for dates and places improves the accuracy of your entries. To add a person, navigate to their profile page, click on the Facts tab, and use the Add option to input names. Following these guidelines ensures better alignment with genealogical practices and enhances the usability of your family tree on Ancestry.
How Do I Add An Alternate Name To A Family Tree?
To add alternate names to a person's profile in your family tree, navigate to their profile page and click on the Facts tab. Use the + Add option in the Facts column, then choose Name from the drop-down menu. Input the alternate name in the Description field. You can support the entry with media and sources by selecting Attach media and Attach source. Additionally, in the Other Information field, specify the type of name—options include "Also Known As," Birth Name, Married Name, and Nickname.
For multiple name variants, it's recommended to first enter the person's birth name or official legal name in the Vitals section. If you encounter conflicting information, you can choose to retain either the new or existing fact, or both. When necessary, you can add names used prior to or following a move to a new country.
For adjustments in relationships, click Edit and choose Edit Relationships to add alternate mothers or fathers. Each genealogy tool may have different protocols for entering names, so familiarize yourself with your platform's specific features. It is best practice to record all relevant names, including aliases and nicknames, to create a comprehensive family history.
📹 How To Get A Cool Nickname! Comment yours ⬇️
How To Get A Cool Nickname! #shorts #australia #funny #name #fyp.
My great-grandmother was born Sarah Margaret. As a child she was called Maggie. She married at 15 and that’s the name on her marriage license application. After marriage, she was called (and showed up in records as) Sarah. Sometime after her first husband died she became known as Margaret. It feels like the evolution from child to young woman/mother to mature woman.
I can not stand to look at my ancestry alphabetical list with 100’s names that are only first names when you go to the alphabetical list, which I use all the time. Also for research when you see 100 Annas, I would have to click on every person to see who they belong to as child or a parent, so I use this in the first blank “Anna wife of Bill” or “Anna w/o Alexander B.” Then in the second blank the man’s last name “Kraft” After all Anna was a Kraft many years and will be in the records that way. This is fast easy way to research those elusive women. I love how this works. Since listening to your post, I am wondering about another item. I put the cross symbol in the suffix blank, so when it is printed out or when I am looking at the alphabet or adding a name, etc. I will know the person died as a baby and will have not have a spouse or children and most of the hints will not apply. How does that mess up the searching process?
Crista: I don’t know if you see comments on old articles but this article as well as one I viewed previously on ‘Comments’ vs ‘Notes’, has changed my life. And, I’m not exaggerating. I’ve been researching since I was 11 years old and I’m 75 now. I joined Ancestry because of Arlene Eakle’s visits to the Ventura County Gen Soc / SoCal Gen Soc appearances. I am rarely disappointed with your info but the naming problems, especially with UScensus enumerators in the deep south have created such problems as ‘Esta’ (one of my great aunts) who is actually ‘Esther’, etc. I have to run through a list of possibles in the deepest southern accent I can muster, to try to figure out exactly who they were talking about: ages are frequently WAY off. Now I’m going to have to start combing through the 10,000 names in my tree to ensure these ‘problems’ are appropriately dealt with. Thankyouverymuch, as Elvis would say.
My family tree contains many ancestors with the same names, nicknames help to identify who’s who. Ancestry ignores the nickname if it is surrounded by ” or ( ). Including the nickname in the name reduces much confusion. I use () for titles, such as Duke, etc. If the maiden name is unknown, I use the married name. It works for me.
this is informative. I have a 2x great grandfather was AMbrose Fredenburgh, but we cannot find his parents or siblings. We know he was born between 1830 and 1837 in Upper Canada, maybe Mallorytown Ontario. His surname may have started out van fredenburgh or Fredinburg, and on and on. With Ambrose being so different would have thought it would have been easy to find, but Nooooo not easy at all. And I have found lots of people had no middle names listed on anything.
Hi, I’m still wondering about women’s married names… 1) If there’s a woman in your tree who has a maiden name, then later you find a widowed surname in a census and not yet any records of the husband… how would you handle the widowed surname? Add the widowed surname as an alternate name… or create a spouse who’s only fact is the different surname? 2) How much of a problem, relative to searches and hints (and other data manipulations), is adding married surnames as alternate names (with the maiden name always Preferred)? I know ancestry’s routines will use a spouse’s last name as an alternate search, but I like including married surnames in alternate names and not creating custom facts or some other tangential workaround. If not alternate, what about AKA?
In regard to nick names or even name variances – I have seen so many trees where they add this name in parenthesis after the original name in the first name field. You suggested adding the name in a fact or as an alternate name. Would the search engines pick up these names the same way if added as a fact or alternate as it would when added in parenthesis in the name field?
I have an ancestor who was baptized as Antoine Hector Salois, 05Jan1846. Born in the morning of Jan 5th and baptized the same day at the church of Notre Dame de Montreal, Canada. He could NOT read or write and I have a few docs that show his “mark” as an X later in life. He shows up again in Sep 1864 – Sep 1867 (American Civil War = 1861 – 1865). He mustered out in Athens, Georgia at end of service of 3 years, as Anthony Selwah (perhaps how the French accent sounded phonetically to them in Georgia??). I then find him in 1888 getting married for the 2nd time as James Holmes (I have no idea where this name comes from). 1888 – Marriage (May 23rd) to Emma C Williams (maiden name: Emma Caroline Cobb) in Madison County, Alabama, USA. It is definitely the same guy – and there is a whole line with the last name of Holmes. From Alabama he moves to Kentucky, and then in 1893 I find him in New York as Antoine Savoie, and then in 1919 (still in New York) with the census showing him as Hector Soulvie. This man has many names!!!
Hello! Not sure if this is still monitored, but I’m curious how to record birthplace when the country doesn’t exist anymore? My ancestor was born in Galicia Poland, which is sometimes listed as Austria in records since it was part of the Austro-Hungarian empire. Since this isn’t an option when creating a family tree, I’m a bit lost and don’t want to miss out on any hints because I have the “wrong” birthplace. Thank you!
I was helping out with indexing a record. I came across the same situation the name he first imagrated under was different from the one he imagrated to the USA under. It wasn’t clear if the first name was his given name It looked more like a place. So I 🔙 out of it before I wasn’t sure which would be correct.
I wrote a comment on your 2013 youtube article on this subject. I thought I would bring it up to 2016. I know that this is an old post but I thought I’d ask anyway. My maternal grandfather changed his name and then went back to his original name if that makes sense. He got married and had 3 children, including my mother, and then got divorced under the assumed name. Then he went back to his original name sometime in a 4 year span. I’ve added his other name on Family Tree and Ancestry. I’m assuming that if somebody puts his original name in a search in Ancestry my tree will show up because that’s preferred but if somebody types his other name in the search it won’t give them my tree. I tried and only his preferred name took me to my tree. It would be nice if both names brought the researcher to the same tree.
Hi Crista, I recently read that when adding a surname to charts (pedigrees, family group sheets, etc) the “proper” genealogy way is to enter it in all caps. I notice that you do not have your surnames in all caps. I have not done this either. So is this an actual “proper” professional genealogy tactic? Or can I assume this is just the way the author of the book likes to do her documentation?
I’ll a little behind on seeing this article, but should you see my post, I would love your advice. Can you have too many AKA’s for the search protocols to function? I have a 2x great grandmother whose name is totally different on every single document I find on her. From Mary Elizabeth, to Elizabeth Mary, to Mary Ilsabein, to Ilsabein Mary, to Anna Margaretha Ilsabein, to just Mary, Elizabeth, Ilsabein, Anna and Margaretha and everything in between or combination you can conceive of. I have yet to find her maiden name. I cannot find a birth record for her as yet (since I don’t know who I am looking for). I do know they are all the same person because I have found her probate record and it lists her children from her first marriage and her second marriage. I have found a marriage certificate for whom I believe is her and my 2nd great grandfather, but can’t confirm that as yet. Just wondering if you can have too many AKA? 1 more question. according to the article, you shouldn’t add variants to the AKA category, but if you have a name like Schauner, that was originally Schouwenaar, and holy moly the variances on that spelling are endless, should you possibly add an AKA because the spelling is so different? Thanks so much.
Your 2nd great-grandmother, Eliza Louisa Frances Jones’s mother is entered as Margaret Frances Jones. Was Margaret born a Jones or did you enter her husband’s surname, Jones. If the former, then it’s fine (just a confusing example). If the latter, it goes against your own standard to enter a woman’s maiden name, if known..
Just watched your article and it answered some of my questions. However, I’m struggling w/ how to input certain name combos. EX: WILLIAM (ap EDWARD of Blockley) Williams. I know his first name is William and his surname is Williams. I’m not sure what to do w/ the info in parenthesis which literally means “son of” Edward of Blockley. EX: Annabella (of Scotland) Stewart. EX: Empress Matilda EX: John I (King of Scots) EX: Isabella of France (Queen of England). No last name to enter unless you count the “of France” as her surname. I also have many issues w/ Sirs, Ladies, Dukes, Duchesses, Counts, etc with some holding several titles. Have you thought of doing a segment just on Royalty titles? If you have done one already, could you direct me to that article? Thanks!!
I have several relatives who never went by their birth name. It seems as though an official name was registered and then never used. My grandfather never knew that the name he went by was not the name on his birth certificate until late in life. In this case it seems wrong to use the birth name since it is literally only on that one document and then never used again.
I am sharing this with a group of fellow new genealogists hoping to get them started on the right foot! Good info here, but one question: Is it okay to put an alternate first name in ( ) after the first name? i.e. Wincenty (Vincent) Zielinski Does this do anything to the search – help or hinder? Thanks so much.
Crista – I have a question concerning Hebrew names and hopefully I am not too late to receive a response. When a child is born to a Jewish family even today, that child may be given both a birth name and a Hebrew name. I know I can show two Names in “Personal Information” and provide an explanation in the “Notes.” What I would like to do under “Personal Information” is to show “Name” followed by “Name Hebrew” but I have a feeling this isn’t permitted by the genealogical standards or Ancestry’s software. Am I correct in this assumption or is there any way to create the set up I desire? If I create a new fact called “Name Hebrew,” it appears under “Individual Facts,” which is not where it should be. The procedure I currently follow is to have a second “Name” field and insert the Hebrew name as the name with the word (Hebrew) following such name. I would like to thank you in advance for any information you can provide. – Joe
Thank you for this article. My question that I was searching for when I found your article has to do with names, such as Spanish names, that have “de” (of) in the name. I am unsure how best to enter this in Ancestry. For example, if the persons name is Francisco Martin de Alemán, what do I put in the surname? ” de Alemán “, or just ” Alemán ” and if so what do I do about the ” de “? On Wikipedia, the answer per the Chicago Manual Of Style is you can do either depending on who the person is – which is not helpful.
I cannot edit a name in my own tree that is incorrect. I did not enter the information when I added this person – it has been changed. How do I change it back to the correct name? It’s the name that is on the headstone and in my family records. Very frustrating. I also cannot add people. I’ve cleared cache and cookies as suggested, but I still cannot edit.
This article seems a bit of a mess. First we’re told that following standards helps with tips etc., then it seems it’s do as you like. If I enter a name as an AKA will it really be as good for working out common ancestors as if I add it as an alternate name? We are told that for women we don’t need to add a married name, but if the husband had more than one BUT only used one during the period of the marriage how will it know which? And no explanation of what a maiden name is. In England at least, a maiden name is the name used at the time of her first marriage. This may not be her birth name – mention was made of a person changing to use their step-father’s name, but of course possibly more common, in England at least, is where born before marriage and so first named with their mother’s surname, their parents then married and they changed to use their biological father’s name. Women who don’t marry don’t have a maiden name, they simply have a name / surname.