Steve Cushing Impresionist Fine Art Photography

Steve Cushing Impresionist Fine Art Photography

Embracing imperfection, recording emotions, one impression at a time…

Making sense of Names and records in the family tree.


Parish churches have been required by law to keep registers of baptisms, marriages and burials since 1538. These were recorded in large ledgers and stored in locked chests. From 1598 copies of the registers had to be made for the previous year and sent to the local Bishop or Archdeacon and these records are known as Bishop’s Transcripts.

Usually there was a single register that recorded baptisms, marriages and burials. The information recorded was minimal and until the 1700s was usually written in Latin. From 1754, churches had to be licensed to perform marriages and had to keep a separate marriage register containing pre-printed pages. And from 1812, Baptisms and Burials were also recorded in separate pre-printed registers.

1733 is generally reckoned to mark the end of the use of Latin in Church of England parish registers – but not Roman Catholic registers, where Latin remained the official language till 1966. The Proceedings in Courts of Justice Act 1730 (4 Geo II. c.26) was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain which made English (instead of Law French and Latin) the obligatory language for use in the courts of England and in the court of exchequer in Scotland.




Looking at just a few of the variations of William we have:

Liam
Origin: Irish short form of William
Meaning: "resolute protection"
Description:
Liam originated as a nickname for William, the Irish variation of William. William is an English name from Germanic roots that was brought to Ireland when the British fled England following the Norman Conquest. The Irish began using English names, including William, which led to the development of William and its short form, Liam.

Wilhelm
Origin: German variation of William
Meaning: "resolute protection"
Description:
This dignified German form of William belonged to two German Emperors and Kings of Prussia, as well as a host of other important historical figures. These include composer (Wilhelm) Richard Wagner, philosophers Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel and Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, mathematician Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz, and physicist Wilhelm Roentgen, who discovered the X-ray. It now sounds rather dated in Germany, however, having dropped out of the Top 20 there in the late 1920s and continuing to decline since.

Willem
Origin: Dutch variation of William
Meaning: "resolute protector"
Description:
Common in Holland, the appealing Willem (as in de Kooning and Dafoe) makes William fresh and distinctive.

Gwilym
Origin: Welsh variation of William
Meaning: "resolute protection"
Description:
The Welsh version of William is almost unheard-of across, but it's fairly straightforward and could make a good heritage choice or alternative honour name.

Guillaume
Origin: French variation of William
Description:
An everyday name in France, a charismatic possibility here.

Guillermo
Origin: Spanish variation of William
Description:
As with Guillaume (see above), Liam, Willem, and Wilhelm, everyday Williams in their own countries, Guillermo is a captivating possibility here. Giermo, Gigermo, Gijermo, Gillermo, Gillirmo, Giyermo, Guermillo, Guiermo Guilermón, Guille, Guillelmo, Guillermino, Guillo, Guirmo, Gullermo, Llermo, Memo, Quillermo.

Gwilym
Origin: Welsh variation of William
Meaning: "resolute protection"
Description:
The Welsh version of William is almost unheard-of across, but it's fairly straightforward and could make a good heritage choice or alternative honor name.

Viljo
Origin: Finnish variation of William

Guglielmo
Origin: Italian variation of William

Uilliam
Origin: Irish variation of William


LATIN IN PARISH REGISTERS AND LATINISED NAMES

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