* Married Name

[dewilkinson]

I am a little confused. Having moved from TMG which automatically created a married name tag when you entered a marriage. In FH this doesn't seem to happen yet when using the filters in the records window the correct person is found even if the married name has not been entered as an alternate name (very clever).

Two questions:-
Should I be entering married names as alternate names (the ones created in TMG have imported as such)

Alternate names are very hidden, although they appear in narrative reports. Is there anyway to make them more visible?

Un-related question regarding nicknames, these seem to appear in diagrams but not in narrative reports, which seems a bit odd. Can you get them to appear in narrative reports?

[trevorrix]

The convention is not to record married surnames, because the change of surname for females is implied when the marriage takes place. I suppose there are exceptions to this rule in countries where the maiden surname is used as the last forename upon marriage.

[Jane]

Don't forget to change the filter options on the Records List so you can quickly find Women by their married name.

You can add extra columns to the record list and extra name fields to the property box, using the customisation options if you want.

To get a list similar to what TMG provides (eg everyone listed under all their names) try the
Search All Possible Names plugin
http://www.family-historian.co.uk/plugi ... ntry?id=34
and leave both search fields blank.

To get Nicknames in narrative reports, you could add the Nickname information to a sentence template for example the Birth Template. You can also add the information to a Header on any individual based report easily.

[mezentia]

I don't think it is totally safe to assume that a married woman adopts her husband's name after marriage. I know of one case where the exact opposite occurred, the husband adopting his wife's maiden name as his surname. I am also aware of cases where a compound surname, consisting of the woman's maiden name and her husband's surname, hyphenated, are used as the woman's married name.

I use the V3 compatibility features that displays a Detail on the individual property form tab that allows an alternative name, name used, and nicknames all to be entered, as well as name prefixes and suffixes, on one convenient tab. I tend to use alternative name to record instances where the name has been recorded with an alternative spelling, and name used where the person uses a name different to that which might be expected, as in the case mentioned above where the husband adopted his wife's maiden name.

[tatewise]

Yes, that is essentially the advice in how_to:handle_people_with_multiple_names|> How to Handle People With Multiple Names.