Hello there. I am having trouble finding information on my GGGrandmother although I find resources that appear to match. Her name was Johanna and I find a baptism for Judy with many of the same details.I have heard that the names are interchangeable but that seems far fetched to me. Is there someone who can verify this or send me to a link to a reputable source?
Thank you!
Susan
"Hannah: Honora, Johanna
Jane: Joan, Jean (all being rendered Johanna in Latin)
Susan: Johanna (as renderings of the Irish Siobhán)
Siobhán: Johanna, Susan, Jane"
http://fhr.kiwicelts.com/Research/Gen_Nicknames.html
"Julia: Judith, Judy, Jude, Julie, Gillian, Gill, Gudith, Jillian, Jill, Julianna, Julian,
Susan, Susanna, Susann, Susanne, Susie, Susy, Suzan, Suzanne, Susana, Susanah, Susannah, Suzanna, Shusan,Johanna, Johannah, Jane, Joanna"
http://www.rootsireland.ie/help/first-names/
My GGGG grandmother's names in the records were Jude, Julia, Joans, Judy, and Johanna.
Hi Susan, you were looking for a reputable reply for the connection between Johanna & Judy. Well this goes very far back in history as Michael Ronayne explains that Johanna and Judy are variations of the Gaelic name Siobán (note that the "b" is aspirated and the "a" accented) and would be written in the Roman alphabet as Siobhan. He quotes Patrick Woulfe on p.217 of his Book "Irish Names and Surnames":-
"Sioban, Joan, Johanna, Hannah, (Julia, July Judith, Judy, Jude, Susanna, Susan, Nonie); the feminine form of Joannes, or John (v. Eoin and Sean), which became common in France in the 12th century as Jahanne and Jeanne, and in England as Joan; brought into Ireland by the Anglo-Normans, where it has ever since been one of the most popular of woman's names. Lat. Joanna.
This would suggest that Johanna and Judy are derivations of the feminine form of the Gaelic for John. It was quite common in Irish families, for a person to have an official name and then to have a "pet" name which was used within the family, with the official and "pet" names having a common Gaelic root."
Regards, Richard Crowe
I have the same problem with my 2x grt grandmother. She went to the US abt 1840 into New York. Her name was Bridget Howard, yet I can not find any record of her in Ireland. Most likely Tipperary, Nenagh, or Limerick area. Born abt 1828, died in Syracuse New York as Bridget Ryan in 1911. What a brick wall! Any naming sugestions? Thank you! Beth Putnam
Bridget was often recorded as Delia or Bridie
This is really useful, thanks all. In my own delvings I keep encountering this as well - with Hannah being Honoria, Hanoria, Anna, and so on - and I suspected that Judith and Joanna (which again can become Hanna!) were the same people in different documents. The more I learn about the vernacular and formal naming traditions the more things clarify. This is invaluable information we wouldn't know (in the new world countries and in this time). Thanks for the great information! Best website for practical advice.