Dit names arose out of the French word “to say” or “dire”.  From Kimberly:

Found primarily in France, New France (French-Canada, Louisiana, etc.), and Scotland, dit names are essentially an alias tacked on to a family name or surname. Dit in French is a form of the word dire, which means “to say,” and in the case of dit names is translated loosely as “that is to say,” or “called.” Therefore, the first name is the family’s original surname, passed down to them by an ancestor, while the “dit” name is the name the person/family is actually called or known as. Dit names are used by families, not specific individuals, and are usually passed down to future generations, either in place of the orginal surname, or in addition to it.

One of the comments on the post come from Dave Pierce who explains the term “Dit” in a military context:

Dit naming was also used to identify cadres of soldiers. Most often they referred to the
surname of the (military)formation as a hailing recognition factor. In the confusion
of battle, it was always necessary to be ableto direct the formation to a particular action
for succesful maneuvering. As the dit naming would recognize “Andre Jaret Dit Beauregard” it further identified Andre Jaret as a soldier of the unit that was directed by the “Beauregard” commander or possibly by the captain whose surname was BEAUREGARD . These were some of the basic tenets of battlefield tactics that were among the first rules that an officer had to learn.

An article on Dit names by Patrick on a Quebec Research roots web had this statement:

Dit names, therefore, have varied origins: army companies (Verchères,
Sorel, etc.); place of origin (Breton, Langlois, Langevin, Montpelier, etc.);
landscape (Beauregard, Beaulieu, etc.); the ancestor's full name (Gaston
Guay to Gastonguay or Castonguay); ancestor's given name (Richard, Vincent,
Robert, etc.); and no doubt for various other reasons, including vainglory
or vanity.

What I find equally fascinating is that dit names can be found in Scotland.  Our Scottish ancestors used names such as Robertson – the son of Robert.  Other examples – Robert Bruce who became the King of Scotland.

Another twist on names has been shown in areas where many people had the same name.  An academic paper by Nancy Dorian in 1969 entitled A Substitute Name System in the Scottish Highlands uses the term “by-names” to describe a naming system found in Gaelic speakers in the East Sutherland region of Scotland.

The by-names in use in East Sutherland fall into several distinct groups: (1) basic
genealogical; (2) descriptive; (3) derisive; (4) nonsense; and (5) secondary genealogical
patterns built on the second, third, and fourth groups.

Dit names and by-names can complicate your research but by understanding how and why they are used will greatly help you find that missing ancestor.

–

Related:

Names and Nicknames: Naming Practices in Early Modern Ireland

Names and Naming Patterns in England 1538 -1700

Did you like this? If so, please bookmark it,

Lizzie’s parents were Martin Watson Wilson (1857 – 1942) and Margaret Metcalf Robertson (1854 -1936)

Siblings were Alexander, Mary and Martin.  All of the children immigrated to Saskatchewan Canada.  Other names married into this family are Freethy, West, Whyte.

I heard from a descendant of Lizzie’s brother’s (Martin) family this week.  Like me, she grew up in Saskatchewan and now lives in Montana.  We share great grandparents.

I’m looking forward to comparing our research!

—

Related posts:

My Grandmother was a Blue Tooner!

1.  GENUKI:  www.genuki.org.uk/big/irl

2.  Fianna Hideaway & Guide to Irish Genealogy:  www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~fianna

3.  Irish Ancestors: www.irishtimes.com/Ancestor

4.  National Archives of Ireland:  www.nationalarchives.gov.uk

5. The National Archives (UK) - http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/

6.  Public Records office of Northern Ireland: www.proni.gov.uk

7.  Cyndis List: http://www.cyndislist.com/ireland.htm

[Please comment below if you have have additional websites for Irish Genealogy research].

I’ve been borrowing books from the Alberta Family Histories Society library, some of which I wish I had available all the time at home for reference.

My latest purchases are:

• Finding Your Ancestors in English Quebec by Althea Douglas

• Finding your Irish Ancestors by Dr. Penelope Christensen

• Researching Irish Court Records by Brian Hutchinson

• Researching Irish Census Records…Including Census Substitute Records by Brian W. Hutchison

The more I know about the hows and whys the more likely I’ll solve our KERR brick wall and get them out of Quebec and back to a specific place in Ireland.

P.S. I am sooooo lovin’ being retired.  I have time to play

He married Eliza Victoria GODWIN on 02 June 1857 in Ontario, Canada. 

They had one child Samuel Franklin WOODLAND.

Connections? 

Please comment below no matter how remote the connection might be.  Thanks!

Those of us researching in England, Wales or Scotland will be interested in the recent release of the 1939 National Identity Card Database.

The 1939 National Identity Card Survey was undertaken at the outbreak of the Second World War and took place on National Registration Day Friday September 29th, 1939.  The details collected for each person included:

• sex
• date of birth
• marital status
• occupation
• whether member of armed forces or reserves

The 1939 Identity Card database formed the basis of the NHS Central Register when the NHS was set up in 1948.  The data remained secret until challenges to the Freedom of Information Act at the end of 2009 and early into 2010.  It has now been announced the release of data for individuals who have died and are recorded as deceased.

Where to find it

The records can be accessed at the following links:

• For England and Wales – National Health Service information centre – download a form to request information for a fee
• For Scotland – administered by General Register Office for Scotland – fee based
• For more information about the 1939 National Identity Card Database

The 1939 National Identity Card database can complement genealogy research using the 1911 Census, most of which will be released up to and including 2012.  The 1921 Census is due to be released 2022.  The 1931 Census was lost in a fire in 1942.  There were no census in 1941 due to the second world war.

–

Related:

Early British Census – 1086 to 1841

Examples of Listings in the British Isles

To access the collection click here.

Scotlands People can be accessed here.

• County Antrim -25,000 Church of Ireland birth records

• County Armagh – almost 2,000 records from the 1821 census records

• County Down – 3000 Church of Ireland birth records

• County Leitrim -18,000 birth records, 7,000 marriage records, 54,000 census records

• County Mayo -42,000 baptismal records, 25,000 marriages, 3,500 deaths, 28,000 census records

• County Cork -11,000 births, 4,000 marriages, 21,000 Gravestone inscriptions, 9,000 census

They are working towards making the records of Counties Laois, Offaly and Wexford available on the site in early 2010.

The new website address for the Irish Family History Foundation is www.RootsIreland.ie

I received the following notice in the September 2009 issue of Scotland’s People Newsletter about an update to their marriage database records.

“Indexes (NOT IMAGES) to modern marriage records from 1934-2006 have now been added to the site. This now gives the range of statutory records as Indexes of Scottish births and deaths (1855-2006) marriages (1855-2006) and images of births(1855-1908), marriages (1855-1933) and deaths (1855-1958). “

Search the Modern Marriage Records by clicking HERE