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Records can be searched by Last Name and First Name, Year of Burial, County and Parish.
Forename abbreviations (Boyd's London Burials)
In Boyd's London Burials (but not in City of London Burial records) common forenames are nearly always abbreviated, eg. JN for John, THO for Thomas, see list of forename abbreviations. The forename term always has an * wildcard added automatically (which represents zero or more characters), to ensure that you find entries with second forenames or initials. In most cases try to minimise the number of letters entered to find abbreviated names.

Surname spelling conventions (Boyd's London Burials)
Boyd used a few surname spelling conventions, though not consistently particularly for records after 1800. Variations in surnames spellings should be looked at in detail. Conventions include:
  • Initial letters: To find surnames with the initial letters in the left column below, try searching on surnames beginning with the corresponding letter in the right column:

    Looking for Search for names starting
    GH G
    GN N
    KA* CA
    KL CL
    KN* N
    KO CO
    KR CR
    KU CU
    LL L
    PH* F
    SC* SK
    TH* (H silent) T
    WH* W
    WR* R
    * Spellings are generally 'normal' for records after 1800.
  • silent final e is ignored: There are some anomalies, eg AIRE, but generally, if a surname exists with a variant which has an e on the end (such as COOKE), try dropping the e (enter COOK), eg. enter CLARK instead of CLARKE and GREEN instead of GREENE etc.

  • double letters as single: eg WILSON will appear but not WILLSON. This may be confusing, since BENNETT and KELLETT do appear. Try the alternatives, if you don't find a spelling where there is a double consonant, try using a single.

  • x sometimes replaces cks: eg. HIX not HICKS, COXON not COCKSON. But BRACKS, BROCKSHAW, BRUCKS, JACKSLEY, JACKSON, STOCKS are all present. Try both alternatives if you don't find the person you were looking for.

  • ch sometimes replaces tch: eg HUCHINSON for HUTCHINSON, but BUTCHER, CATCHER appear. If you don't find a surname containing tch, try dropping the t.

  • i and y: Where a name containing i has a variant with y, eg. Bird and Byrd, y is used at the end of the name and i in the middle: eg GILES not GYLES, SMITH not SMYTH.

  • last syllable: Names of more than one syllable are treated with some freedom:
    1. an, en, in, on, un
    2. ar, er, or
    3. field, field, feld
    4. bourn, born, burn
    5. wood, wode, ward
    6. bridge, brig
    7. ey, ye, y, ie
    8. el, al, ell, all, ale, le
    9. ford, forth
    10. son, sonn, sone, sonne, etc
NameX
NameX is a proprietary name-matching tool which allows you to find family records for names which have common variations in spelling or which may have been spelled incorrectly on some records.
Click here for more help.


See also:  About London Burials Index
  Boyd's Indexes - Forename abbreviations
  Boyd's London Burials - Places and Counts
  City of London Burials - Parishes, Counts and References
  Family History Articles:
So You Found a London Burial?
So You Didn't Find a London Burial
  About the author - Cliff Webb
  Source Record Archives
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