the use of "dit " in a name

[casey82]

I assume this is the same as "also known as" (a.k.a.) in English,
BUT

http://www.archivesdepartementales.cg82.fr/ark:/40357/dz4ccmfmo9ng4rj7
acte de naissance (le 15 dec 1843) in the margin has "Anne Costebounel dit Gubach"

Body of text says pere "Francois Costebounel dit Gubach" age 33; mere Jeanne Roussel, son epouse, age 21 ans

Acte de deces d'Anne (5 dec 1844 a Bruniquel) is simply for Anne Costebounel no mention of GUBACH
Cannot find any mention of a Gubach anywhere else.

I thought it might be because the child was illegitimate but no - Jeanne and Francoise were married in June 1843 (6 months earlier)

If Gubach were a nickname of Francois, they would not put that against the baby's name ??

Just a bit of a puzzle Any ideas welcomed. thank you

[fvielfau]

bonsoir, hello,

yes it's a nickname

it's quite usual when the family name is common in the parish or "commune"

often, it doesn't mean anything

François

[casey82]

Merci bien I

[ericdubois]

It's like a nickname but usually carried by the entire family instead of a single individual, and passed down through generations. In some cases, it becomes the family last name in future generations. And sometimes the names are switched in different acts for the same person (e.g., "Anne Gubach dit Costebounel").

I wouldn't dismiss it as having no meaning. Sometimes it's the town or region that family originates from. Sometimes it's the first or last name of an ancestor, or the name of a foreign family before in was "frenchified", or a physical attribute of the person or an ancestor.

In this particular case, Gubach is a name most prevalent in Eastern Europe, especially Ukraine. I would not be surprised if Anne has ancestors in that country.

[casey82]

Merci
This is really interesting. Je laisse a mes cousins francais de poursuivre.!..
Kathy

[bretoncreole]

.

[casey82]

Merci. ceci est vraiment interessant !. Les idioms et "nicknames" sont si riches dans les langues.