Today a person typically spells their name the same way their entire life or at least changes that spelling infrequently. A person that has the same last name as their parent typically spells that last name the way their parent does.
There was a time in many cultures and language groups when names were spelled a variety of ways for the same person throughout their life time–a time when there was no conventional orthography of names. That can apply to first names or to last names and can be a difficult concept to understand for those who are used to standardized spellings for names that are used as first and last names.
When writing about family members during time periods of no fixed orthography, consider choosing the one spelling that is used most often when writing generically about individuals with the last name. Always transcribe specific records precisely as they were written.
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