Do you have a family line where the surname is spelled in a variety of ways? If so, you know how frustrating it can be to locate all the relevant records. In my research, the Nafus surname has proven particularly tricky due to its many spelling variations. Thankfully, the book Joannes Nevius, Schepen and Third Secretary of New Amsterdam under the Dutch, First Secretary of New York City under the English; and His Descendants includes a helpful list of alternate spellings.
This inconsistency in spelling is exactly why I often rely on Soundex or wildcard searches. But today, while exploring FamilySearch’s experimental search site, I decided to try a different approach in my hunt for records related to Cornelius Nafus—especially those from Seneca County, Ohio, around 1830.
Instead of searching by full name or Soundex, I searched only by the given name, Cornelius, within the appropriate time and place.
To my surprise (and delight), this strategy pulled up several records I might have otherwise missed due to misindexed or AI-transcribed surname variations. Some of the spellings included:
- Natus
- Nalue
- Rafes
- Names
- Naus
- Nakes
- Nafers
- Nobus
- Natur
- Nalus
- Volus
- Nessel
- Nabus
- Vafus
Most of these are likely the result of AI-generated transcriptions from handwritten or poor-quality images. Still, several turned out to be useful leads that I might not have found with a traditional surname search.
While this “given name only” search worked well for Cornelius, it’s less effective for his brother William—given how common that name is. But for more distinctive given names, this approach could be a powerful tool in navigating difficult surname spellings in digitized collections.
This experience reminded me just how valuable it can be to think outside the box—or in this case, outside the surname. While it won’t work for every ancestor, especially those with common given names, using a first-name-only search can uncover unexpected gems when dealing with tricky surname variations. If you’re hitting a brick wall with your own research, consider giving this method a try—especially on platforms using AI-generated indexing like FamilySearch Labs.
Have you ever had success with a similar strategy? I’d love to hear about your search experiments and what worked for you. Let’s keep helping each other break through those brick walls!