Recording Scottish "Tee" names
Posted: 28 Aug 2020 10:35
Hi All,
I would like to know how folk record "Tee" names. They are very common in N E Scotland. I tend to add them to their regular names, as in - John Doe "Downey", but is there a more useful way of handling them. Bearing in mind they seem to be used more often to identify family lines, rather than individuals, they are not really "Nicknames" or "Given names used". As the definition below states "Tee" names often appear on official records.
Any suggestions ?
George
A definition on Rootschat -
To-names or T-names
To-names or T-names meaning 'other names' or nicknames, were prevalent particularly in the fishing communities of North East Scotland, but were also seen in the Borders and to a lesser extent in the West Highlands.
In those areas where a relatively small number of surnames were in use, T-names were tacked on to the name to distinguish individuals with the same surname and forename. The nickname may have referred to a distinguishing feature or be the name of the fishing boat on which the person was employed. These T-names have made their way into the records. For example, amongst the numerous John Cowies of Buckie can be found fisherman John Cowie Carrot who married Isabella Jappie of Cullen in 1892. Was this perhaps a reference to the colour of his hair?
The T-name appears on a statutory results page in brackets in order to distinguish it from a middle name for example James (Rosie) Cowie, James (Bullen) Cowie, Jessie (Gyke) Murray, and may be designated in inverted commas on the image of the actual entry.
I would like to know how folk record "Tee" names. They are very common in N E Scotland. I tend to add them to their regular names, as in - John Doe "Downey", but is there a more useful way of handling them. Bearing in mind they seem to be used more often to identify family lines, rather than individuals, they are not really "Nicknames" or "Given names used". As the definition below states "Tee" names often appear on official records.
Any suggestions ?
George
A definition on Rootschat -
To-names or T-names
To-names or T-names meaning 'other names' or nicknames, were prevalent particularly in the fishing communities of North East Scotland, but were also seen in the Borders and to a lesser extent in the West Highlands.
In those areas where a relatively small number of surnames were in use, T-names were tacked on to the name to distinguish individuals with the same surname and forename. The nickname may have referred to a distinguishing feature or be the name of the fishing boat on which the person was employed. These T-names have made their way into the records. For example, amongst the numerous John Cowies of Buckie can be found fisherman John Cowie Carrot who married Isabella Jappie of Cullen in 1892. Was this perhaps a reference to the colour of his hair?
The T-name appears on a statutory results page in brackets in order to distinguish it from a middle name for example James (Rosie) Cowie, James (Bullen) Cowie, Jessie (Gyke) Murray, and may be designated in inverted commas on the image of the actual entry.