[sasar]

Hi,

I'm researching my family tree at the moment and came along a document with my Grandmother's name on it. We always knew her as Alice but it seems her birth name may have originally in Italian.

The bad printing makes it look like ELIOE or ELICE. I've had a quick look on baby name sites and can't see these so does anyone know if either are real names or what it might be?

Thanks
sasar

[kerilyntaryn]

http://www.thinkbabynames.com/meaning/1/Elice

it's also a place in Italy


Elioe is listed in Ancestry as a surname in the UK

[Gudrun]

Ah, you probably need a handwriting expert . I doubt that it would be Elioe. I don't know Italian but it doesn't look Italian to me from the little I know about Italian.


It is quite possibly Elice though which I don't think looks strange at all.


ETA just read KLT's post. If Elioe is an English surname then it is a possible as a given name. If she was known as Alice then maybe more likely Elice? Back to the handwriting expert!

This post has been edited by Gudrun: 27/01/2013, 11:17 AM

[Gudrun]

Scratching around on the net here but Elioe may have a connection to Eliot (from Elijah->Elias). So it might be a variant spelling of Eliot. But this is idle supposition and may well be the wrong 'garden path'.

I'd be going to the nearest Genealogical Society. A serious genealogist is good at deciphering script through space and time. They have knowledge of spellings too. You might also discover that someone has researched the family and knows what her name is.

You could also get involved yourself on the net or at the society and find out by researching the family yourself. One of the biggest distractions ever!

Let's know if you do find out. I'd love to know. I'm backing Elice but you never know, it could be the more obscure Elioe.

[Sunny003]

Id say it's Elice. Elle-ear-se. Alice in English?

Look up the Italian or Spanish form of Alice

[sasar]

Thanks for you help. I think it must be Elice. It's printed not handwritten and the c must be smudged into an o. I read Alice in Wonderland in Italian once but her name was just Alice so I don't think it's a common translation.

I'll keep delving into the past and see if another ancestor has the name You're right Gudrun it is a huge distraction.