michaeljohnneill 8:23 am on April 28, 2016

Switch First and Last Names

If you can’t find your relative in a database, consider switching the first and last names. These kinds of errors are not all that unusual, particularly with individuals with non-English names.

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Howland Davis 8:30 am on April 29, 2016

This still happens now. Frequently my hotel reservations are held under my given name. Once I listened as a motel employee told a caller that they had no reservation for her even though she had the correct address. I suggested that he ask her first name. It was one that could be reversed and, yes, they had the reservation under the given name.
Ann A. 10:51 am on April 29, 2016

Many of my relatives switched back and forth between first name & middle name from one census to the next. Sometimes a child was named after a parent and he/she was called by their middle name until that parent passes away or the child leaves home. Perhaps they liked one of the names more than the other.