General Chat

Hi,
Can anyone suggest the possible given name ( for a boy ) of a child always referred to in the family as Gig. He would have been born in the first decade of the 1900's. Was there a famous 'Gig' that he may have been nicknamed for, an actor perhaps? - by all accounts he was quite good looking as a young adult and a bit or a ladies man. The family he was from had a habit of using pet names - his sister Lillian was always known as 'Pinkie' because she resembled a painting of that name. Thanks, Jo

Hi PigletsPal, I think I remember seeing some of Gig Young's films..........I can't find a George or Gregory in the 1911 census so I think it must be related to his good looks and not just a short form of his name. It took me ages to realise that his sister, my aunt, had a proper name too! Doh.

have you looked for the family on the 1911 census. you may be able to identify him from his age

Have you looked for his sister on the 1911 or just try the surname with his year of birth.

Can you supply whatever information you have and we'll try some guesses.
Including do you know when he died?

I suggest, like Sue,that you look for his sister on the censuses.
My great grandfather was Sidney on the 1911 census, his marriage, gran'sbirth cert,his death cert.
I couldn't find his birth anywhere.
I traced his sister and found him on the 1901 census- with 3 brothers.
His name was Gifford!
His brothers were called Ivor, Sylvanus,and Ernest.
By the 1911 census, Ivor had changed his name to Frederick and Sylvanus to Herbert!
I did a double check on the 1911 census-the places of birth, parents etc were identical -it had to be them!

Have you any photo's of the family together and hopefully their names will be on the back or maybe Someone in the family could recognise them..

Sue

Hi Jo
We have a two in the family now, one is Gig and he is Giles other is Gary.
Just a thought, you said he was good looking, bit of a ladies man in his younger years, could this be Gig short for Gigolo?
Ria x

Maggie - nearly all of OH's g.uncles known by their second name, however Frederick Richard was known as Frank! I had a photo named Frank, and he was so named on census but could not find his birth. Was puzzled for a long time. Another one was John Richard known as Derek - why????????????

Not a new thing: one of our friends is Richard Sidney, known to all and sundry as Reg.

My cousin Frederick Charles was always known as Jeff.

And my cousin (1927) always called my father (1911), Boy.

My brother til he was c 17 years old was known as Boy !

Shirley~I,m getting the hang of it

Funny you should say that, My grandad named Robert in the family was known as Mike, my dad, Robert was known as boy (by his mother)
and I, (methinks cos I went to grammar school) was called professor, in the family.........

Bob

H Jo . Now I know this won't help you track down your ancestor's Christian name but 'Gig' -as a nickname ( rather than a corruption of a proper name)- was often used for someone who wore glasses, especially as a child ! (from gig lamps, which were thick glass & round!) Victorian in origin, this nickname was still often heard when I was young, in the fifties . Kids used to get all sorts of nicknames - Carrots, Spindle, Chalky, Scoff, Pigeon and Gig - are just a few I remember from my schooldays!
Probably still happens today? Indeed, will Bear Gryls be recorded as that?
Hope your quest is successful . x

I could find no record of my Mum's uncle. He was known as Bob. I tried variations on Robert, Robin etc.

Eventually I located the family on the 1911 and there was little Harold! I have no idea why he was known as Bob (it was his whole family who called him Bob, not just nieces and nephews)

I am fortunate enough or perhaps nosey as a child to know my parents , grandparents and g grandparents full names and known as names

Mum was known by her middle name( unusual name) and that is how I put up her up on GR, and found a second cousin, with whom we shared our family tree.

Dad's middle name was John , but he was known to all but two as Jack.
His best friend was a John ,so he and his wife called him Jonnie.

Hello, Jo! Have you tried Gilbert?

Hi, and thank you to all the additional 'threads' to my posting. It made great reading. Apologies for not getting back sooner, got busy on another tack and forgot to check back. I will get the hang of this soon! Regards to all, Jo