Spelling of Surname changed in grandfather's time

FiachDubh

Hey I just found out recently that my grandfather spelled the family surname with the last letter repeated. So it was spelled with two Gs instead of one. This makes no difference to the pronunciation.
Anyway In the 1911 census its spelled with 2 Gs but during his life and before he got married the family dropped the last G. My father doesn't know much about it. I want to know if anyone else's surname underwent a change? I'm interested in why people would do that, hardly just to make it less awkward? I'd like to spell it the old way, its an uncommon surname and it just adds to its uniqueness
do i have to go down any legal route to get it changed? Because if you do it just ain't worth the bother.
Thanks.

Zaph

FiachDubh wrote: »

I want to know if anyone else's surname underwent a change? I'm interested in why people would do that, hardly just to make it less awkward?

I know a family who changed their surname from Hare to O'Hare, because people just assumed it was O'Hare anyway and at some stage in the past some family member decided that they were fed up correcting people.

paddysdream

Seems to have been common enough.I know that in my own family Mcdonnell ,M'donnell,Macdonnell,Macdonald and Mcdonald were used at different times as the surname.

This was not consistent ,ie my gran was christened Mcdonnell and her father used this version all his life but she used Mcdonald at marriage and as her maiden name all her life.Her brother used Mcdonnell all his life.Her first cousins ie sons of her uncle,used and still use Mcdonald.

On another side of the family Byrne was (is) used whilst others use O Byrne.

Suppose its the same with Walsh, Walshe ,Welsh or Mahoney,Mahony O Mahony etc.

L1011

I'd say anyone who can get before 1900 in their tree is going to find this. Inconsistant record keeping and poor literacy standards across the populace would be the main factors. I have Duffy/Duffey, Rowe/Roe, Shaddick/Shadwick/Shaddick and Cundell/Condell to deal with all by as far as 1890.

Waitsian

I have O'Dowd/Dowd/Doud/O'Dowda/Dood - all the same family over many generations, going back to the early 19th century.

HeidiHeidi

We became O'xxxxx instead of just xxxxx, because the priest wrote it wrong on the marriage cert when my parents got married. My dad's family remained (and remain) just plain xxxxxx, but our family have morphed to the other variant.

It can be that simple!

FiachDubh

and here was I thinking you'd have to go threw a load of legalities to change your name! So it looks like that G was lost to simplify the name. I'm a bring it back

pinkypinky

I don't know about the legalities of it but you can probably just change it on bills and then once you have a few different accounts with the extra g, you can use it as proof to change the important ones like driving licence and passport. I wouldn't bother going down the route of changing your legal certs, that will require a peace commissioner. Best to check it out with the GRO to be sure of the rules though.

People were illiterate in the past and didn't know how their names were spelled. Also the anglicisation of the late 19th century followed by the Celtic revival meant that people swapped in and out of O' and Mac surnames.

RGM

I have Ryan ancestors from Galway and I discovered that in several 19th century records, their name is written as "Royan." That has led me to wonder whether they are actually related to the Rowan/Ruane clan rather than the well-known Ryans/Mulryans of Limerick and Tipperary.

I think the only hope of sorting that out would be getting a male Ryan cousin to do a DNA test.