Matching up Nicknames With Given Names

It can be hard enough to find great-grandma Jenny without having to figure out if she could also be Jane, Janet, Jeanette, Jennett, Jennifer, or Virginia. But it is common in many genealogical records, especially more informal records such as census records and obituaries, to find your ancestors listed under names you might not expect. In many cases, these names may have been the nicknames that they were known by to their family, friends and business associates — no different for our ancestors than it is today.

List of Nicknames for First Names

Nicknames can sometimes be difficult to catch, however. "Kim" as a nickname for "Kimberly" is fairly straightforward, but "Polly" as a nickname for "Mary" and "Peggy" as a nickname for "Margaret" have tripped up many researchers. Sometimes nicknames were formed by adding a "y" or "ey" to the end of a name or part of a name — i.e. "Johnny" for "John" or "Penny" for "Penelope." Other times the name was shortened in some manner — i.e. "Kate" for "Katherine." But sometimes it is just a matter of knowing which nicknames were commonly used in a particular time and place. That's why it is important, as a genealogist, to familiarize yourself with commonly used nicknames and their corresponding given names.

Do not forget, however, that what appears to be a nickname isn't always. Many nicknames became so popular that they later came to be bestowed as given names. My father's name is Larry — which is not short for Lawrence as many might assume. And my great-grandmother really was baptized as "Effie," not Euphemia or Evelyn.

Scroll down to explore this list of common nicknames associated with popular given names to determine the various ways in which your ancestor might appear in genealogical records. These are just some of the most common possible given name/nickname variations, but certainly not all. While researching, keep in mind that the same nickname might be associated with different given names, and the same individual might show up with different nicknames in different records.