Why have a Preferred Name field if it's not used at top?

Question

Hello Wikitreers!

I'm working on a profile for American painter Fitz Henry Lane and I keep losing track of him because of the way his preferred name displays. He changed his name in his 20s and then used this name in his artist career. While it's very important to keep his birth name (Nathaniel Rogers Lane), his preferred name (Fitz Henry Lane) is his adult identity and how people will be searching for him. To me, it would make sense if his preferred name was the name that displayed at the very top of his profile.  And possibly as the name that shows on his parents' profiles (Mother of....)? I've noticed with other profiles that I have to remind myself of their birth name frequently while working on them, but with FHL it became very clear that someone might not understand who this profile is for.

(Please excuse the current state of his profile, it is still a work-in-progress.)

Answer 1

Hi LK,

For reference on this, see https://www.wikitree.com/treewidget/Lane-14819/1001

Cheers,

Chris

Comments

Hi Chris, that is helpful in general, but I guess I am questioning the underlying logic for some of those settings. Yes, for some people, those settings may work, but in my experience on Wikitree, I've found that they often don't represent the person accurately.