The Home Improvement Blog

The proper way to input information on a family tree.

Entering names in a family tree template:

Record the first name first, then the other given names, with the surname last. Capitalize surnames, and place them last: e.g. Mark Peter SMITH. This helps to clarify which of the names is the person’s family name. For married women, always use the maiden name (surname at birth). If the maiden name is unknown, never use the married name in its place. Show the first name(s) followed by two forward slashes // to indicate that the maiden name is unknown: e.g. Colleen Elizabeth //.

If there are nicknames involved, then the nickname should be shown in quotes. For example, Jacob “Jac” SMITH. If someone has been adopted or undergone a legal name changed, then they should have the original name in brackets, and then a.k.a followed by their new name.

If you find a surname that appears to be spelled incorrectly, do not correct it. Illiteracy was rampant in ages past, and this may have caused the name to be recorded wrong. In any case, you should make sure you write down the different variations.

You might also find that some surnames were changed due to immigration to a different country. This may have been a political reason, or it may be that they wanted to fit in. If you happen to know the original spelling of the name then you would record that first, then make a note of the version it was changed to later on.

Date formatting for family trees

Dates will normally be formatted using the European standard. This is different from the American standard because in this one the day would be listed, then the month, and then the year. The first letter of the month will be capitalized, leaving you with the following: 18 May 1911

If you don’t know the exact date, then you would place a prefix such as: abt which means: about. Another word you can use is ‘circa’ which means ‘around’. Use these when you want to use an approximate date rather than an exact one.

If you don’t know the exact date but can establish a range of dates between which the event occurred, then use the abbreviation bet. (short for “between”), with a hyphen between the two dates. E.g. bet. 22 Jan 1950 – 26 Feb 1950.

You might run into a case where the date is only represented in numerals. If you find this to be the case, then you should know that in North America, the month is shown first, and the number corresponds to the month’s position in the calendar. If you are looking at a European chart, then the day would be shown first.

Geographical data and abbreviations

List places accurately, proceeding from the smallest to the largest geographic area. E.g. London, England, United Kingdom. In regards to abbreviations, use genealogical standards such as b for born, d for died and m for married etc.

Build your family tree for free online and then make a family tree print to share with your relatives. Visit Mundia.com for free and easy to use family tree software.

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