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| LIFE IN SOLERA | JULY 2023 | 35 AKA AND NEE As you do your genealogical research, you may encounter the terms AKA and Nee, but what are these and why are they important? The term AKA is an abbreviation for 'Also Known As' and is used when another name other than the person's birth name is used. For example, William Cody is AKA Buffalo Bill. Many actors, actresses, and entertainers use an AKA name usually for simplicity in their identification. AKAs are useful in genealogy by allowing you to trace the AKA of a person back to their original name. This becomes a starting place to look up the real name in various genealogical databases. A more useful term for looking up peoples' families is the Nee surname or maiden name of a lady. Nee was derived from the French word, Naitre, for 'born'. So Nee literally means 'born as' or 'originated as'. It is primarily used to precede the maiden name of a married lady that is shown after her married name. It is almost never used for a man unless he has legally changed his name. It can also be used for something like a name for an organization that gets changed, i.e., LA Dodgers nee Brooklyn Dodgers. When adding a spouse to a family tree, you should always use the lady's maiden name or add after her married name 'nee and her maiden name.' Always double check a woman's surname, if shown as the same as her husband's, so that her maiden surname reflects her family name. This will provide you the starting information to trace her family ancestry. There are some instances where both the husband and wife had the same last name going into the marriage, but it is to some extent a rare occurrence. Another example of why the nee or maiden surname of a woman is important is the schema of naming children. For example, the Scandinavians will name the daughter after the father's first name, i.e., Greta Hansdottir would be the daughter of her father Hans and his surname would be different than hers. This information can help in tracing her family history. In the Hispanic world, when a lady marries, she adds the husband's family surname to her maiden surname. These can help in tracing her and her husband's family ancestry. So you can see the use of AKA or Nee can be very helpful in tracing a person's family ancestry. ~ Bill Cramsie ANCESTRY GROUP At the June meeting, Richard Crowe presented a historical overview of America's unique array of Public Lands. On Mon., July 10, 4 to 5 pm (not the regular first Monday or time frame), Richard will present the second part of this history: How 50 Years of Environmentalism & Politics Have Changed the Nature of Public Lands Uses. HISTORY GROUP

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