Genealogy Chat

Is it law that you have to use your proper name, i have a birth cert and the childs mother is down as Gertrude but i dont think this was her real name, just wondered if she would of had to put her correct name, ie, middle name

the information on any certs is only as true as the informant thinks they know.

My paternal gran was married twice , her hubby registered the births of their two eldest children and put mums name down as Annie because thats what he called her, Her name was Emma Ann .

Who was the informant on the cert you have?

You can call yourself any name you want as long as its not to defraud

It was my grandads mother, but the family knew her as Nancy, strangley i cannot find a birth for her with either name

Why not put what you know on here Michele? Unless you already have of course! We can have a look for you.
jan

Hi Jan, well i have had people searhing but still cant find anything conclusive

She may just have been known as Nancy with no apparent relationship to her registered name .

My grandmothers name was Annie but every knew her as NanceMargaret

I have an Aunt who was Annie Elizabeth on her birth certificate but everyone called her Nancy.

Your real legal name is whatever you choose it to be.
All that's necessary for a change of name is that you start calling yourself by your new name. That constitutes a legal change of name under common law (provided it's not done for fraudulent purposes).

Anne/Ann /Anna/Hannah and few more were mainly called Nancy ,,I have a marriage certificate as Nancy only.......but her birth name was Anna Mary,,,her sons birth cert some time later was Anna only......this is from time scale 1916---1918.....!

Maybe she was Gertrude Ann/Annie ....if named after a mother the second name was often used to stop confusion..hence Nancy as shown above.

Nan & Nancy are standard diminutives for Ann & it's variants.

Returning to the original query, here's section 41 of An Act for registering Births, Deaths, and Marriages in England [c86 6 & 7 Wil IV, i.e., 1836]
And be it enacted, That every Person who shall wilfully make or cause to be made, for the Purpose of being inserted in any Register of Birth, Death, or Marriage, any false Statement touching any of the Particulars herein required to be known and registered, shall be subject to the same Pains and Penalties as if he were guilty of Perjury.
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~framland/acts/actind.htm

My G grandmother's name on all 10 of her children's birth certificates is Amelia P. Her real name was Agnes Amelia B, and she wasn't Mrs P until the birth of her 10th child - prior to which, she and Mr P married, following the death of his first wife

I didn't know my great aunt Nell's name was really Alice, until her funeral.
Then found out 'Nell' was spelt 'Nel'.
When she started courting her future husband, Leonard, aka 'Len' , the family said they were like two peas in a pod, and Alice became 'Nel', the 'ying' to Len's 'yang'.