General Chat

A downer for our posterity: no request for middle names in the new census. There is hardly space for them if you want to put them in voluntarily.
Not much we can do about it, apart from write to the press, or the American armaments company that is running the census.
But I guess at least Genesreunited members could squeeze middle names into their own entries.
Rimbaud

The census for England and Wales is run by the Office for National Statistics. Write to them if you have any comments.

The instructions for entering your name says:-

"Enter your first and last name in the spaces provided. Do not include middle names or maiden names. Use the name you are known by on official documents.

If there is not enough space to enter your name, please enter as much as the space allows"
Write within the boxes and only write one letter in each box. "

Its a shame but they are more interested in our educational qualifications and wordly goods.

Teresa

Oh ! I entered my middle name as well. I filled it in with the thought at the back of my mind that in 100yrs my descendants could be searching for me!(I wanted to give them all the help that I could!!)

Leni

I am not in the UK for the census so this will be the first time I have not been on a census during my life time. It has just struck me that I have been working on some of the census.
I have two surnames and if I was in the UK I would put them together such as BrendaAnn. Not my real name I hasten to say!

Also,no place of birth asked,only country,not a lot of use for future researchers.

Is it not possible to squeeze the information in the boxes.
or simply add it somewhere or does that make the paper invalid.??Hmm

Leni says they have already filled it in You are not supposed to do it till the 27TH MARCH
MARY

OH has 3 christian names and they are all on official documents. Passport, driving licence, birth and marr certs. He signs with 3 initials and then surname.

Just remembered someone i know - he is known by a christian name entirely different to the two on his birth cert but those two are used on all his official documents including his enlistment papers. Seems as if this lot is a right beggar's muddle

Mary, no, that is not strictly correct. You can fill it in now, and submit it, you don't have to wait until the 27th March, unless you are unsure whether there may be any visitors staying overnight.

Unlike the earlier censuses when you were supposed to record only those who were actually resident on the night, for 2011 you record all those who are normally resident at the address, whether they are actually present or not. In addition you record those who are not normally resident but who are actually there on the night, i.e. visitors, Visitors are also recorded on the census for their normal place of residence. Hence if you think that you might have visitors, but can't say for sure, you need to wait till the 27th.

Ridiculous really as I know there is someone with my first name and surname registered in the same birth year and not more than a 100 miles from where I was born...anyone looking in the future could have great fun 'untangling' us!

OH told me that when hospital staff were checking his mother's medication after her recent short stay with them, they mentioned unknown items.
It turns out that there is someone with her unusual first name and surname, who lives in the same small town and who has the same birthday (but not year)

My daughter always has to check that dentist has the correct notes and not those for someone with an identical name.

None in this household have middle names, but they can be useful.
I would have thought that an official form would need a full name.

EDIT
What about those children who are registered with their mother's surname, but carry their father's surname as one of their middle names.
That is part of their identity, so there should be a choice to use it.

Gwyn

Come to think of it guys, I was attending a hospital clinic a few years back, and the staff came along and introduced me to another patient, who was there on the same day, who had my identical first and surnames [Arthur Rimbaud in case you were wondering!], and my indentical date of birth. Needless to say, as hospitals used first+last name + dob = ID, our notes had become completely scrambled.
Could have had nasty consequences. I sympathise with whichever clerk/nurse it was who got the job of separating them out again.

Joan
I don't know of anyone around here who has forms yet.

I see your problem. My sister-in-law is the same. Her full birth name was used when she married, she has always been known by her middle name, since a child.

Gwyn

Joan,

You put the first name you generally use now for official communications, irrespective of what you are called by your friends and relatives or appears on your birth or marriage cert.

I have a sister with five names plus her surname and they are all on her birth cert and all legal documents. I have three names and my younger sister two. My children all have at least two names in addition to their surname.

I am pleased that one can enter names of others who may not be present but usually are.

My granddaughter has 3 forenames, and 3 surnames - and she uses all 3 surnames!! LOL