Old docs and LNAB [closed]

Question

Just wondering, hypothetically, just in case...., if the only source I have is, say a parish register from Cornwall, England, and the register has baptismal names in Latin, do I use that source for the name or do the obvious translation. Not just LNAB, but prenames, too, like Jacobus to James, etc.

Answer 1

I would say the key word was "birth" not baptism. Although the earliest written source is a Latin baptismal name, do you think (or is there any later evidence) that the child was ever called this? Personally, I would use the anglicised version of the name.

Answer 2

I use the English names. The Latin version was purely for the formal baptism record and would never have been used by their parents. In many cases the parents would not even be aware that the record stated anything other than the child’s given name.

Comments

I expect they had no idea how the vicar spelled their surname either.