Emma short for Emily?

ma...@kinweb.org

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Jan 12, 2002, 2:52:02 AM1/12/02

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This may be obvious to some, but is the name "Emma" a variation of "Emily"?

On a related note, is there a database somewhere online that lists name
abbreviations and variations?

If not, would anyone else find such a thing useful?

Mark

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Genee

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Jan 12, 2002, 9:22:15 AM1/12/02

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Technically I would say it is not. I know two people named Emma and
neither one is an Emily. I think the nick for Emily is Emmy. Hard to
tell what families or enumerators meant by their spelling.

The Cranky Genee

Frisky0623

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Jan 12, 2002, 11:12:25 AM1/12/02

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I can say that i have a daughter names Emily and we call her Emma alot. I don't
know if this is normal but we use it.
no junk

Edith Gomez

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Jan 12, 2002, 1:21:44 PM1/12/02

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Emma could be her real name, I have a Grand Aunt named Emma Sheppard at
birth, can't remember her married name at present. Emma could also be short
for EMMALINE.

Edith

"Frisky0623" <frisk...@aol.com> wrote in message
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ma...@kinweb.org

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Jan 12, 2002, 2:53:33 PM1/12/02

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Edith Gomez <edit...@home.com> wrote:
> Emma could be her real name, I have a Grand Aunt named Emma Sheppard at
> birth, can't remember her married name at present. Emma could also be short
> for EMMALINE.
>
> Edith

Thanks folks,

The thing is that my grandmother (now 89) recalls her grandmother's name
as "Emily".

But an 1881 UK census record matches the family perfectly (father's name,
wife's maiden name, four children with the right names, right town, right
dates, etc.) but the wife is listed as "Emma" instead of Emily.

I believe this is the right census record (too many other points match up
for it *not* to be). It's entirely likely that my grandmother is not
remembering the name correctly (seems more likely than an error on the
census taker's part), or it could be that one name is/was a variation of
the other at the time.

Barb Wise

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Jan 12, 2002, 4:26:40 PM1/12/02

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<snip> It's entirely likely that my grandmother is not remembering the name

correctly (seems more likely than an error on the census taker's part)

<snip>

Unless:

1. The census taker heard something like "Emma Leigh" and merely recorded
the first name.
2. Her name really was Emily, her family called her Emma, and that was what
was told the census taker.
3. The census taker was told Emily but incorrectly wrote down Emma.
4. Any of a number of other possible theories, none of which make too
terribly much difference today.

If all the other information matches up, chances are it *is* the right
record. Just make a record of the slight difference in name in your notes.
Then, as you find more primary sources with her name, you can make an
educated opinion as to what her name 'really' is.

--
Barb
Orange County, Indiana, Marriage Record Index:
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~woodhousegenealogy/
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Charlene Charette

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Jan 14, 2002, 12:05:52 AM1/14/02

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ma...@kinweb.org wrote:

> On a related note, is there a database somewhere online that lists name
> abbreviations and variations?

I don't know about online, but I've seen at least one book on the
subject.

--Charlene

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meanings? -- George Carlin
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Joe Makowiec

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Jan 14, 2002, 7:00:54 AM1/14/02

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On 14 Jan 2002 in soc.genealogy.misc, Charlene Charette wrote:

> ma...@kinweb.org wrote:
>
>> On a related note, is there a database somewhere online that lists name
>> abbreviations and variations?
>
> I don't know about online, but I've seen at least one book on the
> subject.

http://www.behindthename.com/ - "Behind the Name - the Etymology and
History of First Names"

--
Joe Makowiec can be reached at:
makowiec(at)nycap(dot)rr(dot)com

LPurch6636

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Jan 16, 2002, 1:51:58 PM1/16/02

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I had an experience with the female first name "Amy" occurring in one Census
as "Emma." "Emma" could be the "proper" name and "Amy" the abbreviated name or
Emma could just be a name that was "mis-heard" by the Census taker.

Flanagan