Genealogy Chat

I have a Great Grandfather in my tree who according to his wedding certificate and WW1 records is named Henry William Chard; he's down on every census as Henry and his father's name was Henry William. I've now managed to trace his birth certificate, which gives his name as William Henry. It's definitely the correct person (correct parent's names, occupation and mother's maiden name). I would've thought that the birth certificate would have had the correct name, with Henry being what the family called him - but would welcome ideas. He also lied about his age on his wedding certificate - he was only 19 but said he was 21 - his bride being 22.

He was probably named William Henry after a family tradition, but after a couple of years, they just call him Henry. Many people are called by their middle name instead of the first, especially if the first is a family name. Also - the ages can vary wildly when looking into family history lol

Thanks for this.

strictly speakng my dads george after his dad then alan as his middle name but dont think he has ever been called george, its always been alan. further down my tree its quite common for them to swap between middle and first names too. hope this helps

Not related to Lt John Chard of the battle of Rorkes Drift then? The character played by Stanley Baker in the film Zulu.