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All genealogy research is complicated. Accurate records were not kept. Names were spelled as they sounded. Officials "Anglicized" names they didn't understand.
But when you start researching French-Canadian names you discover another level of name confusion. Translating from the French, Dit means "called" or "also known as." It wasn't an alias, as in trying to assume a different identity. It was actually a way of identifying different individuals.
The French, even more than some others, tended to use a very few names over and over. Every generation seemed to have a Jean Baptiste and a Marie Joseph. Sometimes there would even be more than one Jean Baptiste per generation.
In my SansPitie or Sampica line there are three generations of Jean Babtiste's. To further complicate my life the Asselin or Ancelin line also has two back to back generations of Jean Baptiste Bellfluer's. I was never sure which Jean Baptiste I was referring to.
This was one of the reasons for dit, pronounced "d", names. When Jean Baptiste Asselin had a son named Jean Baptiste, the son may have become Jean Baptiste Asselin dit Ancelin (Jean Baptiste Asselin known as Ancelin). His children, and even himself at different times, might choose to use any combination of these names. He might be Jean Baptiste Ancelin, or Jean Babtiste Asselin, or Jean Baptiste Ancelin dit Asselin. Some children might use one form and other children another.
Some other reasons for using dit names were to describe an occupation, a place name, physical characteristics, character description, heroic deed or accomplishment, or a nickname. Many men began using dit names while they were in the military. Some dit names were the mothers surname or the fathers first name.
If you are searching for ancestors with French Canadian backgrounds do not overlook the use of dit names. Every record must be checked. The same name may not even be used on the baptismal record as was used on the birth record. There are lists of the most commonly used dit names recorded in some of the French-Canadian resource books.
We have found some of these listed names in our family research. We have also found others not on the published lists. The following are some we have found.
Dit names and their equivalents.
For more information of searching for French Canadian ancestors see
The French Connection
