Genealogy Chat

Hi,

I have a marriage certificate for 1968 that shows the bride as being 18 years old. Her name is given of course, but it also states 'formally known as' with a different surname. Does anyone one know why this would be.

Thanks,

Dave

Does it say 'formally k/a' or does it say ' formerly k/a' ? It could be that she was originally given the surname of her biological father, but her mother later remarried and the girl took her step father's surname. Hence her former name would have been different to her current name. If her previous formal name was different I cannot guess.

Jenny

Which - if either - surname does she attribute to her father, if one is named?

Have you tried looking for birth info for her?

Hi Jenny and Jacqueline,

Thanks for the replies.

It does in fact state 'formerly known as'

I just received another certificate today that answers my question of sorts. The two different surnames the bride used were in fact her birth fathers surname as one of them, and the other surname was her birth fathers middle name.

Regards,

Dave

Please could you clarify..............?

Were the 2 certificates for the same marriage date?

Hi Gwyn,

Sorry for the confusion, I will try to explain.

When I put the original question out there, I only had the one marriage certificate, that gave the brides surname and then 'formerly known as' another surname.
I then received a marriage certificate for the brides parents, and that told me that the daughter's two surnames were her fathers middle name and also his surname. Not sure if this makes sense, or why the daughter would have two possible surnames. The father was Greek, so maybe they have a tradition where the fathers middle name can also be a surname.
Hope this helps.
Dave

I think the second name for the father isn't a middle name, it is part of a double-barrelled surname.

This is often seen in records.

John Smith-Jones

will be shown as both

JONES John S
and
SMITH-JONES John

in birth and marriage records

and the same is true when the surnames are not hyphenated

the person and family may end up dropping one or the other of the surnames

I don't think there is a 'patronymic' tradition in Greek naming, as there is in Russia for instance, or the kind of mother-father surname combining there is in the Spanish naming method ...


oops I could be wrong but it's a bit more complicated

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patronymic#Greek_and_Greek_Cypriot

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_name#Greek_surnames

Some Asian cultures adopt the system where the father's given name becomes his family's last name.
Eastenders for example: Head of the Asian family is named: Masood Ahmed
His wife and chldren all have the last name of Masood... rather than Ahmed