Genealogy Chat

Hi is anyone as mad as me to be up at this un- godly hour. Just a ? is the name Martha short for Matilda. Thanks sime

i think the name Martha is a name in its own right , Rosex

Thanks Rose You are as mad as me- still up at this hour. Just wondered as have a rellie as Matilda and then later as martha. sime

Sime, Is this on a census? Can you post the details? Almost sounds like 2 different people unless one was a middle name. Rose

Sometimes people chose for whatever reason, to be known by their second name - having already been known by their first. Perhaps when they married there were too many people with the same/similar name. It could also indicate a different wife. Have you checked the BMDs - whichever is appropriate? Victoria (where it is 4pm)

I've never heard of it being short for Matilda, but that doesn't mean it wasn't. People are recorded with all kinds on the censuses. Ozi. Where it's nearly 5 pm.

Martha is a Biblical name in it's own right. What I CAN visualise is that in poor script writing, one name could be mistaken for the other. We had that trouble with a David and a Daniel. Gwyn

It might just be that the enumerator read it wrong - I think they used to drop off the forms at each address, somebody in the house who could write filled it in, then the enumerator collected it and copied it to a big census record. The potential for mis-spelling there would be huge. I just found a May Sutton in 1891 who became Mabel by 1901, for instance - I've never come across that as a short form of May before, but when you say it out loud, it makes sense.

hi i think tilly can be short for martilda if thats any help?