Phyllis Cloyd asked: My daughter is buying me a new genealogy software program. So I will be changing over my data and hope that this will be my last change. I will be doing editing of my existing data at the same time and want to try to GET IT RIGHT this time. Ha. 1. If someone is adopted, which name do you list for that person? I assume the birth name if you know it. But where do you put the adopted name? The adopted name appears on marriage certif., deeds, etc. 2. How do you correctly show the nickname for a person? And what if there is more than one nickname? 3. How do you correctly show a title such as "Deacon" or "Sir" or "Reverend"? 4. Where do you put "Jr." or "Sr."? -- Or "III" or "IV", etc.? Years ago I heard that when "Sr." dies, the "Jr." is dropped from the second generation. Does that apply in genealogy? 5. And how do you handle the variant spellings for both surnames and given names? ----------- If your daughter buys you Reunion, some of your questions will be solved very simply by the structure of its database. Enter the terms you want in the appropriate box on the "person card". There are always controversies about how to represent names, and no one "right" way. At least Reunion allows you to explain in a note why you chose the form you did. For adoptees, I generally assign the person the surname he used most of his adult life. Reunion allows you to link him to both his birth and adoptive families, appropriately labeled. In the note I put the other name and when it was used, if I know: Born James Keenan Webb; adopted by Henry Morris about 1970; now called James Arthur (Jimmy) Morris. If a person had his name changed legally, I note when and where the change was recorded. Some people put nicknames in quotation marks. I prefer to put the name(s) the person was called by in parentheses: Sarah Ellen (Sally); Thomas Edward (Blind Tom, TE); Mary Elizabeth (Mary); Emma (Birdie, Babe). Jr and Sr had different meanings in earlier days. They do NOT imply a son-father relationship before about 1800 (they may represent it, but you can't infer it), merely a younger and an older man of the same name in a locality. You must document the usage in a note. III, IV, etc., are ways to keep track of a lineage but probably were not used by the person in his lifetime. Reunion has a "suffix" box where you can enter them. Record alternate spellings in the notes. I generally use the name the person used most often on his main card and give variants in the notes with sources cited (I have one man whose name was spelled at least 17 ways in his lifetime). Reunion's citation method encourages proper documentation. Whatever you do, be consistent. When you share your data, include a key to your notation system. Kathleen Much [log in to unmask] To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-roots.html