Did the Mays name change at any time to Mayes?

Question

I found information on my family that my Great Great Great Great Grandfather was William Mays or Mayes he married an Ellen Watson. The Mays name went to his son but it then changes to Mayes when he had children. My family is from Verango County, PA.

Comments

It is VeNango County, PA.  Names are often changed or misspelled by enumerators, etc., esp. when the person giving the name is illiterate (as most were).  I wouldn't worry too much about the orthographic change.

Answer 1

I would say "yes, probably" .  It happens all the time, and there's certainly evidence of that for the surname "Mays".  In fact, it may have changed from Mays to Mayes, and then back to Mays again at some point.  It's especially common in Census Records, where the enumerator may spell it differently than the family would or had - assuming the family he interviewed was literate.

Comments

It changed to Maize as well. :)

Answer 2

Definitely! My ancestors have three different spellings.

Answer 3

It definitely did - at least in my line. You can actually see it spelled different ways within the same documents.

Answer 4

Yes. I've got Mayse, Mayes, Mays, and May. Sometimes the same person gets several of those. You might also find Maise, Maze, etc.