The Use of Aliases as Surnames

Use of Aliases as Surnames^[1][2]

An alias is a different name by which a person may be known. It may replace the surname, give an alternative means of identifying the person, or be a nickname. The need to identify a person accurately became critical in matters of criminal law, property, and taxation.   The period during which aliases were most used in the United Kingdom coincided with the development of surnames. The article ascribes this to the period from 1460 to 1650, although other sources describe the use of surnames starting from 1250 AD. In 1646, a genealogist/curate in Yorkshire wrote “surnames are just settling into common usage in this section of rural Yorkshire and parish records contain many alias names.”

Aliases used in the 1600s by the Leonards include Quinton, Bemeire, Lennarth, Wright or Write, and Edmonds or Edmondes. Aliases were frequently used to define the particular person, when given names were common, to distinguish the individual or family from others. They sometimes described where the individual or branch of the family was from, as in “de Quinton,” a town in northern France.

The use of surnames was sufficiently established by the 1500s for use in legal records. This reduced the need for aliases.

Use of aliases usually occurred for one of the following reasons:

1. Retention of patronymics. John, son of William, may have been known as John Williamson.
2. Retention of topographical reference points, as for example, a particular farm or manor or village that had been in a family for generations.
3. Commemoration by descendants of a marriage to a heiress or a member of a socially prominent ancestor.
4. Illegitimacy, to recognize the father of a child born out of wedlock.
5. Inheritance. In the days before deeds, proof of ownership or occupancy may only be in the manor court roles. In some cases, name changes occurred to establish a person as the legal heir.
6. Adoption, as when a child’s parents died and a sister’s family adopted the orphan.

Aliases may make genealogical research more difficult or easier

1. Not everyone in the family may decide to use the alias. Use may be limited to an individual or a branch of a family. It may have been in use only for a particular event to further identify the individual to whom the action applied.
2. After 1775, children were frequently given middle names as a naming convention. One popular convention was to use the maiden names of the mothers. During the early 1800s, it became fashionable to give the paternal grandmother’s name as a second given name.
3. Names found in baptismal records may be different from those found in the census if one or the other reflects an alias.Following are some of the Leonards I’ve found in English vital records. They appear to be from a number of different Leonard lines. Leonard was a fairly common given name in the 1500s and 1600s, and there were a number of church parishes called St. Leonard’s, so pinpointing word searches of records is difficult. In some cases all variations on Leonard (Léonarde, Lennard, Lenard, Lenarde, Linard, Lyonarde, Lyniard, Lenord, Lenytt, etc.) were changed to Leonard; in other cases not. I took the name as spelled in the record. Spelling depended on the phonics of the particular clerk; many of the people were illiterate and unaware of how their names were being spelled; and there wasn’t much effort to standardize spelling until the late 1700s. Some were latinized versions of English names, such as Johan for John, since many of the oldest church records are in Latin. Some given names were quite common. There were lots of Thomases and James among the general population. There were literally hundreds of John Leonards scattered throughout England in the 1600s. Also, while some rural families remained in the same area for generations (say, the Leonards of Bristol), other families moved around a lot as more job opportunities became available in towns and cities The “iron” Leonards were itinerants, moving frequently from place to place, unlike farmers and merchants.Still, given names can give clues to relationships. Naming conventions help with genealogy. Surnames in one generation sometimes became given names in the next generation. A mother’s surname Leonard would become the given name of one of her sons. The convention of naming the first son after the father’s father can sometimes indicate the grandfather’s name, as in James’ son Thomas being named after James’ father Thomas. And some names repeat often in families, such as all the Henries, Samuels, and Nathaniels among Henry Leonard’s descendants.

The proliferation of common given names and the multiples of branches of the same family repeating the same given names in succeeding generations means that there is ample opportunity to attach the wrong marriage or death date to a person with the same given name. For example, there were a number of Mary Wedmores living in Gloucestershire in the late 1760s, one of which married a Samuel Leonard (but which Samuel?). It can be very difficult to be sure one has the right Mary and the right Samuel, even with the availability of the original church records.

There was little orderly documentation of families, except for the uppermost classes, until the church, under royal order, began recording baptism, marriage, and burial dates about 1538 and thereafter. Also, we don’t know if the Leonards importing the new iron-refining technology were all of the same family, multiple branches of the same family, or different ancestral lines altogether. Given that the technology required an apprenticeship and significant exposure to the process, it’s not unexpected that the technology was passed down from father to son. Skilled ironworkers such as fyners and ironmasters were relatively well-paid, which served as an additional incentive for sons to train in that occupation.

It’s worth remembering that names are usually given for a reason, although that reason may not be evident to later generations. Finding that reason is one of the many challenges of genealogy!

[1] Quoted from “Use of Aliases, an Overview, Historical Use of Aliases in the United Kingdom,” retieved from https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Use_of_Aliases_-_An Overview “ Category: British Isles, October 13, 2010.

[2] Quoted from “Use of Aliases, an Overview, Historical Use of Aliases in the United Kingdom,” retieved from https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Use_of_Aliases_-_An Overview “ Category: British Isles, October 13, 2010.