Anyone doing French-Canadian family research will at one point
or an other discover that one or more of their ancestors had dit names and then
ask, "Where did dit names come from? When did they begin? Why is it that some
families had dit names and others did not?" Before we even start to discuss dit
names--we should make clear what dit names are not--and they are not the
following:
A dit name is definitely not a nickname. All three of the above tell you that a dit is not a replacement for an
existing name, i.e. used instead of. A dit name, in fact, was an extension to an
existing name, and became part and parcel of the original basic name. The custom
of having dit names first began amongst the nobles and kings. It was a matter of
positive identity. As an example: Guillaume, Duke of Normandie--because of his
many exploits in military battles and conquests--had the name "Guillaume dit le
Conquerant." Then, in 1066 when he invaded and conquered England, the English
people had difficulty in pronouncing his French name of Guillaume and they
called him "Gillium" but that quickly became "William". His French dit name of
Guillaume dit le Conquerant then became "William the Conqueror."
The use of dit names did not come into common usage until the late 1500's, it
was at this period in history that dit names became very popular in France.
Families of 14, 16, and/or 18 children were not uncommon. Those large families,
sedentary in nature, produced enormous numbers of duplications of names. For the
authorities it created a problem of proper identification, there were too many
people with the same first and last names. such people as Judges, police chiefs,
priests, and others in authority had to know definitely whom they were dealing
with, and this is when dit names came into common usage.
The custom of dit names was extended to the military. In the early 1600's,
under the French Regime, any young man entering the service was assigned a
"soubriquet" (a dit name). Usually the dit name assigned was taken from an
attribute of the man. As an example: Romain Becquet was a huge man, he was given
the dit name of La Montagne (the mountain man). Therefore he became Romain
Becquet dit Lamontagne. The custom of the use of dit names persisted and was
carried to Canada. There are some families, in the Province of Quebec, that at
this late date, are still using a "double" family name. It was when the numbers
of family members diminished that dit names began to disappear from the
scene.
A dit name is positively not an
alias
A dit names is assuredly not an a.k.a. (also known as).
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