I know this subject has been discussed in the past but thought I'd send this
on as it's a good explaination.
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Source: QUEBEC-RESEARCH-L(a)rootsweb.com
Subject: [Q-R] Dit names
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Question 2: Would someone change from Valentin dit Gregoire to Gregoire dit
Valentin?
One of the most fascinating, and frustrating, aspects of genealogical
research in Quebec is the use of nicknames called "dit-names", so called
because they are typically joined to a family name by the word "dit", meaning
"said". These nicknames have many different origins: the nickname might
refer to the place of origin (Tarault dit Champagne); to a physical
characteristic (Carrier dit Le Brun); to the topography of the settler's land
holding (Audet dit Lapointe); to the father's first name ((Longtin dit
Jerome), to the mother's maiden name (Achim dit Gagné), etc.
Practically speaking, an individual can be designated by a nickname at any
time, and that name may be linked just to him, or to all of his descendants,
or to just one branch of the family. By the end of the 18th century, some
families had four or five nicknames, and it was increasingly difficult to
recognize a family's ancestry by the family name. When the government
insisted on every family choosing just one family name, in the early 1800s,
there were some cases where brothers each chose a different one of the family
names. For instance, one would be Caillé, another Biscornet, a third
Brulefer. And, over the course of the 19th century, when many people did
not know how to sign or spell their names, Caillé, for instance, would also
be spelled Cayer, or Cayé, or even, Cahier. When Quebecois began emigrating
southward to the New England and Great Lakes States, the matter of names got
even more confused. Gaucher and Gauthier, which are not the same name,
became Goucher and Goshay (interchangeably). It would not be surprising if
some Caillé descendants got called "Notebook".
Back to your original question, Sandra, Valentin is "also known as" Gregoire;
Gregoire is "also known as" Valentin. There is no accounting for order, and
the distinction between which is the name and which is the nickname is rarely
clear.
Fr. Owen Taggart
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