Current Spelling of Spanish Names

Question

I know we are supposed to use the name that the person themselves would have used but with Spanish names, this can be a problem, mainly because so many letters were used interchangeably.  For an example, my ancestor shows a last name of Tafolla on a source I found for her so that is the LNAB I used.  However, during that time, another proper spelling would be Tafoya, which is more common today.  In 1800, both would be correct.  So if someone found another source with the spelling of Tafoya and they run a search on Maria Francisca Tafoya, my ancestor would not show up.  They would enter a new profile with the Tafoya spelling and now we have duplicates.  In colonial New Mexico, we have lots and lots of duplicates.

I propose that we use use modern spelling for LNABs and list other spellings they used under other last names or in the bio.  I'm very curious to see what others think.

Comments

Hello Marcie.

Most of the members working on profiles with Spanish names are doing just as you are proposing.

Sometimes, you have to use your good sense to choose the LNAB for a profile.

Example:

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Ortiz_de_Cardona-1

According to the first (earliest) source, LNAB = de Cardona

On the 2nd. source, LNAB = Ortis y Cortes

On the 3rd. and 4th. sources, LNAB = Hortiz de Cardona

On the 5th. source, LNAB = Ortis

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The name would look:

Juan de Cardona aka Hortiz de Cardona, Ortis, Ortis y Cortes

(Other Last Names alphabetically sorted)

The most significant source is the 3rd. one, his marriage record, LNAB = Hortiz de Cardona.

Hortiz and Ortis, in modern Spanish is spelled Ortiz.

That is why I chose:

Juan Ortiz de Cardona aka de Cardona, Ortiz, Ortiz y Cortés

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The WikiTree search Person function has some limitations. The profile does not show up when searching for "Juan Ortiz y Cortés", but it does show up when searching for "Juan Cortés" (! ! ! ? ? ?)

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The thing I tend to miss is remembering to check with and without a "de."  For instance, if I do a search on Miguel / de Herrera, it won't find Miguel / Herrera or Miguel de / Herrera (which needs to be corrected to Miguel / de Herrera.)

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The wildcard (_*) is of great help when doing searches, Marcie.

Example:

There is a profile for Juan de Herrera Sandoval (De_Herrera_Sandoval-2). If you do a search for "Juan" "Herrera" or for "Juan" "de Herrera", this profile won´t be listed in the results.

When I do searches, I use two wildcards, one added before the last name and the other one added after the last name.

By searching for "Juan" "_*Herrera_*", you get the list of all the profiles with LNAB="Herrera", LNAB="de Herrera" and  other profiles with compound surnames like LNAB="de Herrera + something else".

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I have just made a search for "Juan" "_*Herrera_*", DOB: "1590".

Also, there is a "Juan" "Lechuga de Herrera" in the list!!  

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Great idea, Rubén!  Thanks!

Answer 1

I have seen cases where the same named is spelled two different ways in the same document. Example Navarro and Nabarro (side issue: my iPad was smart enough to know Nabarro is not a standard spelling, and tried to change it to Navarro). I would use a modern spelling.

Answer 2

Use the spelling on the birth certificate. If that is unavailable, use the spelling on the earliest known source. Put any alternate spellings in the "Other last names" field and a search for her will come up using any of those spellings.

Comments

Thanks for the star, Joyce. 

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Deb, do you work with Spanish names?  I ask because most if not all Spanish names from about 1850 and older wouldn't have a birth certificate, only a baptism record. Ruben framed my question much better than I did.  This is what we are working with.  The basic WikiTree naming style, even the Spanish naming style, isn't working.  We need to discuss possible new solutions.

ETA my dad born in New Mexico in 1934 didn't have a birth certificate, only a baptism record, which was a problem when he was joining the army.

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I do work with Spanish names and I do understand that there currently isn't a real solution. I was giving you the best answer I was able under the circumstances and you hadn't really asked how to handle the issue of compound names only about the spelling of a single name and which should be used.

I present my GGGrandmother.

I could add at least a half-dozen additional variants. 

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Sorry Deb, it appears you know exactly what I'm talking about.  My apologies!

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Absolutely no apologies necessary. It was a very reasonable question for someone with a Welsh LNAB and a current last name of English origin. LOL, I was only a Lewis at birth because my grandfather used his step-father's last name. There wasn't even a legal adoption involved but it was easier back then to just use any name you wanted or any name your mother wanted you to, I guess.

Answer 3

I have seen that most if not all use the corrected and modern way of spelling names, I find that it makes everything more readable and keeps the family under the same name even though there is misspellings in the original document sources.

Comments

Derek, while modern spellings make things more readable, it is WikiTree policy to use the earliest known name as the LNAB (Last Name At Birth).  Alternate spellings can be entered (separated by commas) in the OLN (Other Last Names).  As Deb said in her answer, that field will also be included in a search, so the person will be found no matter which spelling people look under.

You are free to add any explanation you want in the biography to clarify any issues of different spellings.

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I know that is WikiTree policy but with Spanish names, it just doesn't work.  For example, say I enter someone using their marriage record as a source.  At least 50% of the time if you add a baptism record later, it's going to be spelled differently (or even be a completely different surname.)  A big part of the problem were the French and Irish priests who didn't know the correct spellings and a mostly illiterate community that couldn't tell them.  

It's impossible to add every possible spelling variation in the other last name fields.  The cleanest way to avoid duplicates is to use the most common spelling for the period and location and list the actual spelling from the document with the source information.  For colonial New Mexico, it is also good to use the spelling from "Origins of New Mexico Families" by Fray Chávez.  This is the bible of New Mexico genealogy and almost every surname from colonial times is listed.

Answer 4

AFAIK there are no rules for spelling of proper names in spanish, at least not in the way there're rules for common words. Rodriguez is as valid as Rodrigues, Viviana as valid as Bibiana. I'll go with the oldest source for LNAB, as most people do. 

Even in modern days, depending of the legislation of each spanish-talking country, the spelling or form of the names can vary.

For instance, when my mother married in the '60 in Argentina, her legal name was Roswhita Koeraus de Corbellani, the "de" meaning that she was married to Corbellani and Koeraus being her maiden name (or just Roswhita de Corbellani). That rule was abolished and it was not mandatory later. Today most women keep their maiden name all through her life.

Even nowadays, even if in my birth certificate, passport, etc. my name is Cristina Elisa Corbellani, in some legal documents that are phrased in a very old-fashioned legal jargon, I am "Cristina Elisa Corbellani y Koeraus". 

Answer 5

Would the same rules for Spanish 'y' omission apply to Catalan 'i' in surnames?

Someone comments that because a person (born in 1859) was born in Catalonia and died in Catalonia then we should observe Catalan spelling (Emili Texidor i Torres).   I disagree and think that the first name and last name at birth should be "Emilio" "Texidor Torres" because a) they lived in the 1850s, b) records show "Emilio Texidor y Torres" at the time but only some Catalan-based modern sources show them as "Emili Texidor i Torres", c) he is my great grandfather - I know him as Emilio, whatever the i or y is...  but in general I think that everyone in the family at that time was using Castillian in my family not Catalan; and finally d) they were artists and signed their paintings with the Castillian spellings.

My grandfather went into exile, so I don't know the proper conventions - but should I have to follow these changes into Catalan spellings just because they lived in Barcelona, where more and more people (but not all) took on Catalan spellings in the early 1900s?

Comments

Hi Oliver! I think the naming is always a bit tricky for people in multilingual places or emigrants. I think the best option is to mention all the variants of the name whether in the profile fields themselves or in the bio . If you are sure which variant the person used in life, highlight it, but be sure to mention the other version too, because official documentation could have a different spelling or variant of the name (immigration papers for instance).

I have this struggle with my Bohemian/Austrian ancestors, I've found records in German, Czech, Italian (some of them were born in Trieste, now Italy) and even French, depending of the source and the timeframe. FOR THE SAME PERSON! - many of them were in the Habsburg military and moved all over the territory of the Empire, so the docs are quite scattered. I was sure all of them were German speakers until 2 weeks ago, when I found a letter from one of them, written in italian and signed with the italian form of the name. So the only solution for me is to mention all the variants in one way or another in the profile, so future genealogists may have all the info.

I hope this helps!

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Thanks.  I have conferred with 3rd cousins.. and we agree on Emilio.  

Another one is uncommon.. Bues.  Seen as Bués.  But this might have German roots Bös.  Then in Spain it became Boes and later Bues.  But people will pronounce that now as Bu-es which makes others think that the accent should be on the é.  While the family say ö.  It is very interesting...

I took Korean, Japanese and classical Japanese at University so I am very aware of how languages change with time..

My query is really whether the 'i' should be omitted from LNAB because it looks a bit untidy in a Profile name.. also the search doesn't appear to find some Spanish profiles.. I think that any name with accents should be flattened to ASCII so that it appears in the search... But only during the search... That is probably being worked on anyway..