Mining the 1880 Census Mother Lode: Insanity and Idiocy
A long time ago in a kingdom far away there lived a fair
maiden by the name of Fnu MNU. She married a handsome young knight named Sir Arthur LNU and thus
she became Fnu (MNU) LNU. Wait! Stop!
Does this sound a bit like a page out of YOUR family tree?
maiden by the name of Fnu MNU. She married a handsome young knight named Sir Arthur LNU and thus
she became Fnu (MNU) LNU. Wait! Stop!
Does this sound a bit like a page out of YOUR family tree?
Are you spending
sleepless nights prowling the Web in search of your elusive MNU and LNU ancestors? Or perhaps you’ve encountered them in
someone’s GEDCOM file on WorldConnect at
RootsWeb, and after doing more searches have
come to the conclusion that there are many researchers out there
hunting those wild and crazy LNUs.
sleepless nights prowling the Web in search of your elusive MNU and LNU ancestors? Or perhaps you’ve encountered them in
someone’s GEDCOM file on WorldConnect at
RootsWeb, and after doing more searches have
come to the conclusion that there are many researchers out there
hunting those wild and crazy LNUs.
Well, it’s time to let you in on one of genealogy’s best kept secrets: LNU, MNU, and
FNU are not real names. They are
acronyms. (Acronyms are combinations of the first letters/syllables in
a group of words to form a new grouping
of letters that can be pronounced as a
word.) They are:
FNU are not real names. They are
acronyms. (Acronyms are combinations of the first letters/syllables in
a group of words to form a new grouping
of letters that can be pronounced as a
word.) They are:
- First Name Unknown (FNU)
- Maiden Name Unknown (MNU)
- Last Name Unknown (LNU)
They
are first cousins to the mysterious UNK ancestors that you might have spent time
tracking down until you realized that
UNK was short for “unknown.”
are first cousins to the mysterious UNK ancestors that you might have spent time
tracking down until you realized that
UNK was short for “unknown.”
Researchers have used these acronyms and other symbols and abbreviations for
years, with little or no uniformity from
file to file, to indicate the unknown or missing names. The meaning of these acronyms is often unclear and can be
mistaken for actual names by new‑and not
so new‑genealogists. After all, we all have a few oddly spelled names in our trees, so what’s a
MNU or two?
years, with little or no uniformity from
file to file, to indicate the unknown or missing names. The meaning of these acronyms is often unclear and can be
mistaken for actual names by new‑and not
so new‑genealogists. After all, we all have a few oddly spelled names in our trees, so what’s a
MNU or two?
On another note, be
careful should you encounter any DITTO ancestors in your line. DITTO is an actual surname, but it is frequently
mistaken as a surname by those reading
an enumerator’s “ditto” entry to denote that the name is the same
as the one listed above it. (DITTO and
DITTOE are Anglicized forms of a Huguenot
name of unexplained etymology. The names are found in North America by
1700. Ditto also is a short form of the
Italian personal name Benedetto.)
careful should you encounter any DITTO ancestors in your line. DITTO is an actual surname, but it is frequently
mistaken as a surname by those reading
an enumerator’s “ditto” entry to denote that the name is the same
as the one listed above it. (DITTO and
DITTOE are Anglicized forms of a Huguenot
name of unexplained etymology. The names are found in North America by
1700. Ditto also is a short form of the
Italian personal name Benedetto.)
All of this name confusion serves to reinforce the notion that while user-compiled genealogies are a
valuable tool in research, you need to
examine original records to verify or refute what the compiled records indicate. When possible examine the
records for yourself.
valuable tool in research, you need to
examine original records to verify or refute what the compiled records indicate. When possible examine the
records for yourself.
What can you do to
make your files clear as to the abbreviation or acronyms you use to indicate any unknown given names,
maiden names, or surnames? There are no
perfect solutions or worldwide standards. Some compilers, especially those who use genealogy software, put a question
mark to indicate that a name is not
known, but this is not recommended as some creative family historians use one question mark, while others use two or
three, and a ? for a name might mean one
thing to you and something else to another researcher
make your files clear as to the abbreviation or acronyms you use to indicate any unknown given names,
maiden names, or surnames? There are no
perfect solutions or worldwide standards. Some compilers, especially those who use genealogy software, put a question
mark to indicate that a name is not
known, but this is not recommended as some creative family historians use one question mark, while others use two or
three, and a ? for a name might mean one
thing to you and something else to another researcher
A recent unscientific
search at WorldConnect http://wc.rootsweb.com revealed the following are being used as names:
search at WorldConnect http://wc.rootsweb.com revealed the following are being used as names:
Unknown– 2,742,761
LNU/Lnu — 14,134
UNK/Unk — 39,332
FNU — 139
MNU/Mnu — 3,357
?? — 78,201
?,? — 605,694
??? — 140,665
___ (underscores of variable
lengths) 6,244
lengths) 6,244
– (one hyphen) 6,491
MRS/Mrs (as a given name) — 555,699
[–?–] 3,125
Obviously there is no standard for indicating that a name is
not known‑hence the confusion. The
search even turned up an ancestor by the
name of Unk FNU — with FNU probably used as an acronym for Family
Name Unknown. Not surprisingly there was
no birth date or place for her and one
wonders why such information is even included. It serves no purpose.
not known‑hence the confusion. The
search even turned up an ancestor by the
name of Unk FNU — with FNU probably used as an acronym for Family
Name Unknown. Not surprisingly there was
no birth date or place for her and one
wonders why such information is even included. It serves no purpose.
Unknown maiden names should be indicated by using square brackets with a single em dash (or two
hyphens, if the software, typesetting or
word processing programs will not accept or use em dashes), or use a question mark amid the em dashes — e.g.
Catherine [–] or Catherine [–?–].
hyphens, if the software, typesetting or
word processing programs will not accept or use em dashes), or use a question mark amid the em dashes — e.g.
Catherine [–] or Catherine [–?–].
The same format can be used when the given name is unknown
or in doubt. The latter happens
sometimes when you learn your female ancestor
married someone whose surname is known, but not his given name.
Such references can be recorded as [–?–] Smith. Some of the popular genealogy software has to be forced to use
this format.
or in doubt. The latter happens
sometimes when you learn your female ancestor
married someone whose surname is known, but not his given name.
Such references can be recorded as [–?–] Smith. Some of the popular genealogy software has to be forced to use
this format.
In formal
genealogical writing, the English tradition of putting a woman’s maiden
name in parentheses — Elizabeth (Smith)
Jones — is commonly used by many
genealogists. Therefore nicknames should not be put in parentheses,
but rather enclosed in quotation marks.
Example: Catherine “Cathy” [–?–] Jones. Again, your genealogy software program may or
may not handle nicknames in this format
or might require some tweaking. For those female ancestors with middle names that might be (or mistaken for)
surnames, such as Mary Morgan Kirby, it
is important to indicate that Kirby is her maiden name. If her nickname was Polly, and she married a Smith
her name should be recorded so that in a
family history publication it appears as: Mary “Polly” Morgan (Kirby) Smith.
genealogical writing, the English tradition of putting a woman’s maiden
name in parentheses — Elizabeth (Smith)
Jones — is commonly used by many
genealogists. Therefore nicknames should not be put in parentheses,
but rather enclosed in quotation marks.
Example: Catherine “Cathy” [–?–] Jones. Again, your genealogy software program may or
may not handle nicknames in this format
or might require some tweaking. For those female ancestors with middle names that might be (or mistaken for)
surnames, such as Mary Morgan Kirby, it
is important to indicate that Kirby is her maiden name. If her nickname was Polly, and she married a Smith
her name should be recorded so that in a
family history publication it appears as: Mary “Polly” Morgan (Kirby) Smith.
Remember you do not have to fill in every field in your genealogy software. If you do not know the
given or maiden name of a woman, either
leave the field blank or use [–?–]. Her given name is not MRS, and certainly not Mrs. King William of
England.
given or maiden name of a woman, either
leave the field blank or use [–?–]. Her given name is not MRS, and certainly not Mrs. King William of
England.
Using acronyms or various symbols when names are unknown is
not a good idea because you want to make
it clear that the name is unknown so as not to send others and generations of future researchers on an
endless and futile search for the wild
LNU. Don’t put your cousins in the position of having to ask “What’s MNU? Or who is Unk FNU?
not a good idea because you want to make
it clear that the name is unknown so as not to send others and generations of future researchers on an
endless and futile search for the wild
LNU. Don’t put your cousins in the position of having to ask “What’s MNU? Or who is Unk FNU?
Previously published in RootsWeb
Review: Vol. 6, No.
35, 27 August 2003
35, 27 August 2003
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