Created Julie Goucher using word cloud
The topic of variants and deviants is addressed in detail during the Introduction to One-Name Studies course. Essentially we have likely all come across variants and deviants to our surnames, even if we have not called them that.
Variants
For the purposes of my own One-Name Studies I have registered two variants for ORLANDO, these are ORLANDE and ORLANDA. For my BUTCHER study I registered just one, BUTCHERS. It is also worth pointing out that you do not need to register a variant and at the initial point of registering the surname Butcher I did not register a variant. I did so when I came across a divorce record in the name of Butchers in which the male stated that his name was Butcher and not Butchers.
When looking at my husband’s ancestry his early Goucher ancestors were recorded as Goacher. The Goucher surname was listed as a variant in the Goacher One-Name Study when it was registered by another member of the Guild of One-Name Studies. When the study was deregistered, following the death of the registrant, my husband registered the surname and listed Goacher as a variant. He also added several other variants, one of which is the topic of a forthcoming post.
Deviants
A deviant is a change of surname that happens inconsistently. In the case of the 1939 Register, my husband’s Grandmother, was recorded as GROUCHER.
Why do variants exist?
Accents, spelling and people writing what they think they hear rather than what they actually do – Goucher is a case in point and I regularly receive correspondence in the name of Goucher and Groucher. In a letter recently, I was referred to as Goucher and Goacher, within the same sentence and that is not all, the envelope was handwritten and addressed to Mrs Groucher!
In a time when not everyone could read and write it was very easy for the inconsistencies with the spelling to exist because the person writing the surname would not be corrected if the person could not read what was written down.
Those with “foreign” surnames might change their surname, to make themselves fit in more and I gave an example recently. Surnames that have spellings that are not familiar in one country might become changed over time, just to be easier to manage.
You might find this page on the Guild of One-Name Studies website useful as you consider your own surnames and their potential variants. Those of you who read this earlier post might find it useful to read it again and consider the potential variant I discovered. I will at some point write about this again and my hypothesis about this.
Julie Goucher ~ Anglers Rest 
Hi Julie,
thanks for this, which just arrived 0829 this morning!
I had noticed your advent emails, but also that there was not one every
day, although that had appeared to be your plan. Curious.
It is a useful reminder, but I wish we could bring in some alternative
word for ‘Deviants’, because that word has already been taken by rather
different meanings. I think what we are trying to cover is one-off
errors (which may happen several times), rather than a consistent
variety, although there is some overlap :- sometimes the name is spelt
consistently one way in church records, another way in Official records,
and a third way in census schedules!
It depends if we can establish a consistent use of one variant by a
particular branch. Unfortunately even this can turn out to be determined
temporarily by location and hence local accents. My Aecotts, pronounced
by an Irish lady copying her husband’s Somerset accent, was recorded as
Arcott. Fortunately not Ahcut ! It seems unusual to have the apparently
similar name spelt differently within same location and same records,
but when it does, it probably indicates a significant change in sound of
the pronouced word – except in things like Butcher/Butchers, where it
could be more likely completely different family!
Other than ‘error’ and ‘mistake’ which attach a ‘wrong’ label to one
variant, might we use ‘Variants’ for consistent, and ‘Variations’ for
inconsistent and one-off ‘errors’ – some of which are due to
transcribers not writers anyway.
Here’s one of my recent ones you can quote if you wish.
I noticed a variation in spelling of Rudall / Ruddall, and paused while
chekcing further. I was told Rudall was correct and the one example of
Ruddall was the exception. Expanding the family further, they were in
further branches in different parts of the country, spelt both ways,
plus Rudle, Ruddle, Reddle, Riddle, Raddle, Ridel, Riddell, Ridel,
Radel, Ruddel, Rudel, and one Rundle. I have more work to do, but I
suspect they may connect with a family of Randall, Randal, Rundal,
Rundall, and Rendle, who existed nearby and partly overlapping. They
moved about quite a bit, and it was interesting to see how spelling
changed from place to place for presumably same person, as spouse and
children were of correct ages!
Happy New Year to you all too,
DavidC
🙂
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Hi David,
Thanks for your comment. The posts were to be one a day for December, going up to Boxing Day. Alas, whilst I had written most of them, I always leave them in draft and then schedule. The plan worked until a domestic situation arose. I have been cheating and publishing them when they should have been, which means you will likely find a few more in your inbox today and tomorrow.
In terms of the words deviant and variants, I have used those that the Guild uses, which were coined probably 30 years ago. I do agree that by labelling we are perhaps trying to control the narrative.
When my husband wanted to register Goucher he could not because it was already registered as a variant of another registered name, Goacher. At that point, my husband took the view that the study had the wrong name. Even though, his early Goucher ancestors were frequently recorded as Goacher.
When the study was de-registered, my husband re-registered it, switching the study name and variant around.
Which really means that the “correct” spelling is variable depending on how you spell the surname in question! Just to make it even more of a muddle, I actually have Goacher’s in my own family, a Sussex family which moved into Surrey and connect with a branch of my Butcher family, they have never been recorded as Goucher’s.
Best wishes,
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