De Moss, Van Hoorebeke, Van De Walle, and similar names with “de,” “van,” and “van de,” have spaces between the prefix and the rest of the name.
The problem is that sometimes they don’t have a space between the “van,” “van de,” or “de” and are all run together. When querying any electronic database for these names, make certain to search for DeMoss, De Moss, and maybe even just “Moss,” Different sites handle these names differently and what worked to locate the name on one site may not work on another.
Occasionally Van De gets morphed into “Vander.”
2 Responses
I have a ‘space name ‘ it’s Mc Closkey!
“Mc”s are sometimes shown as M’ in handwritten documents, particularly in indexes.
While I spell it without a space, the Department of State still records my name with a space.
So my passport reads “Mc Closkey” and any systems that use the DoS version of my name (cruise tickets, sometimes plane tickets) need to have the space in the name if you want to match.
Old documents, particularly indexes, may have separate sections for Mc’s. Not phone books or city directories, but indexes at cemeteries may have a separate section for Mcs.
So I have to look in all places.
Good reminder about the “Mc” names sometimes being in a separate section–particularly in indexes to local records.