Forums: Index > Watercooler > French names that include "dit"
At least two of our contributors have created page names that include "dit" just before a surname. Those of us who have not been thoroughly steeped in the French language might welcome an explanation so that we can make Familypedia as friendly as possible for French speakers. — Robin Patterson (Talk) 01:03, October 24, 2010 (UTC)
- I've not much experience at this, Robin, as I am not a Francophone myself - it essentially means "called" and denotes a supplementary family nickname. My desRosiers "dit Lafrenier" ancestors were one branch of the numerous desRosiers clan of the Berthierville area, and some of their descendants started using the calling-name as a surname, particularly my ancestors who moved to New England and then renamed us Ashley.
- (I hope this is the proper form for a reply here!)
Thank you for that! Now I've just found a long article on EOGEN that deals with it in part:
— Robin Patterson (Talk) 09:06, November 16, 2010 (UTC)