Nick Names - these can be recorded after the person’s first name rather than using it in place of the proper name. In this case you will use quotation marks in place of the parenthesis, i.e. John “Buddy” Michael JAMISON. If the name is a shortened form of the proper name i.e. Becky for Rebecca, then you can omit it completely if you like.

Multiple names - in the case of multiple names due to name changes or legal adoption, you can include the surrogate name in parenthesis following the last name. Be sure to put a.k.a. (abbreviation for also known as) right before the surrogate name i.e. Rose Marie TURNER (a.k.a. Rose Marie HAMILTON)

Name Variations - if there are any variations in the spelling of the last name include those as well.  Add the primary spelling followed by the spelling variation i.e. Dennis Philip BRAUN/BROWN.

Recording Same Last Names - if a woman’s maiden name is the same as her married name then make sure you record that fact to prevent confusion at a later time.

Documenting Time Periods

Time periods are a very big deal in genealogy and the criterion for documenting them should not be deviated from. Use the standard European dating format for day, month and year i.e. 15 August, 1871 rather than August 15, 1871 or 08/15/71 and so forth. Using the format of 08/15/71 would cause confusion. Did you mean 1671, 1871 or 1971?  It is however appropriate to use monthly abbreviations. 

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