2025-07-02 Dealing with Unexpected Names in Your Tree: Occasionally an ancestor will change his or her name, but more often they may use a name you wouldn't expect. Genealogist Amy Johnson Crow offers some helpful tips for handling unexpected and changed names in this video, including focusing on relationships, occupations, and church affiliations to solve name mysteries. In the Vault, you can learn more about names and spelling issues in research. (See all tips.)
Welcome to the Beginner's Path in The Family History Guide,
featuring
Other Platforms: To change to a different family history platform, use the choices in the Versions menu above.
Tips: To return to this page, click The Family History Guide logo (upper left). To get help with basic computer skills, visit the Computer Basics section. Note : Computer Basics is in the Full Version of The Family History Guide.
OUR MISSION: To greatly increase the number of people actively involved in family history worldwide,
and to make everyone's family history journey easier, more efficient, and more enjoyable.
The Family History Guide is approved by FamilySearch as a training resource.