NewbieQ about "Anonymous"

+7 votes
148 views
I found this profile of someone born about 1667 (based on her husband's DOB I assume) and named Anonymous. The profile itself it not private, and obviously the person is deceased.

Would it not make more sense to name this person "unknown" until we determine her name?

I am not 100% sure of the protocol on this. Sorry if I missed it...it's been a long while since my initial training :)
WikiTree profile: Unknown Powell
in Genealogy Help by Marci Abraham G2G6 Mach 1 (11.5k points)
The last name should also be unknown - unless it really was "Anonymous".
I agree, Melanie! I admit I didn't notice :)

And I don't think someone who died 300 years ago gets to be "Anonymous" laugh

Marci: Thank you for the great catch! Anne

1 Answer

+7 votes
 
Best answer
I posted a comment for the profile manager to please change the last name at birth from Anonymous to Unknown
by David Selman G2G Astronaut (1.3m points)
selected by Susan Laursen
Thank you David. I must admit I didn't notice it was there for the last name too.

Would it be appropriate to also ask her to change the first name? Anonymous seems to indicate the named person's intent to remain private (and I believe it is automatically used for those who choose not to have public profiles, even though they do put their real name on their private profile). "Unknown" seems like a more accurate choice for the first name as well as the last. At this point, she may end up as Anonymous Unknown, which is still misleading IMHO.

I'd appreciate the feedback to help me better understand the ways of Wikitree. Thanks!

Help:Name Displays

Help:Name Fields

If the last name is unknown, use Unknown in the field. Do not use Not SureNNWife of XAdopted, etc. 

The member that manages the profile has not been active since 23 April 2021, hopefully, she will see my comment.

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