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FEMALE listed as name in Birth Record

ProfilePosted byOptionsPost Date

Janet

Janet Report 29 Dec 2014 23:45

I am looking at Birth records and have found a couple where the first name is listed as FEMALE. Does anyone know why?

Sylvia

Sylvia Report 29 Dec 2014 23:49

It could be that the parents had not decided on a name for the child at the time.

Shirley~I,m getting the hang of it

Shirley~I,m getting the hang of it Report 30 Dec 2014 05:17

Or the child died soon after birth so wasn't given a name but was registered at the time of death on both birth and death records

Jacqueline

Jacqueline Report 30 Dec 2014 10:12

Not unusual for births to be registered under gender only.

As Shirley says, it was often because the child had died before the registration could take place.

Have you checked for possible corresponding death?

Also, it isn't uncommon to find infants on censuses listed as 'not yet named'.

Perhaps the parents couldn't agree on a name....................


Potty

Potty Report 30 Dec 2014 12:19

And if you are wondering why deaths can't be found, there were over 8000 deaths registered from 1837-1851 with an unknown surname and over 10000 between 1861 and 1871.

GlasgowLass

GlasgowLass Report 30 Dec 2014 18:41

In Scotland pre 1855, an infant child who died before being baptised was never named.

Family Search and Scotlands People use info from the mortcloth records to create both a birth and a death from this single record and assume that the child was born and died on the same day.

They use the date that the infant death was entered onto the mortcloth!

Gee

Gee Report 30 Dec 2014 20:45

Hi Janet

I think the initial question has been answered. However you could check the census records for the family you are researching, they may show the nameless (now named?) children on the birth registrations

Cynthia

Cynthia Report 31 Dec 2014 15:38

Hello Janet and welcome to the Community boards



(I'll let Janet know how to find her replies) :-)

Janet

Janet Report 31 Dec 2014 20:58

Hi all
Thanks for your replies - much appreciated.
You have confirmed what I already suspected .

DazedConfused

DazedConfused Report 2 Jan 2015 13:08

my own g/grandfather was registered simply as 'male' Simpson.

He was born in 1872. He was born disabled and not expected to live. He survived (obviously!!) and was christened a few months later. But as his parents never bothered to go back and make the amendment.

Took me years to find his birth!!!

:-D

InspectorGreenPen

InspectorGreenPen Report 2 Jan 2015 19:39

My wife's grandfather was born in Dublin at home and his birth was registered by his mother with full details as we would expect.

On the other hand, several of his siblings and cousins were born at the Retunda Hospital Dublin and in every single case, the birth was registered by a hospital official without a forename, simply as Boy or Girl.