The Fages' name games

In pursuit of context for a possible John William to William John Fage switch between birth/christening in 1872 and all subsequent mentions in official documents, I looked a little more closely at references to his siblings.

• Mary Ann Fage, the eldest, born in 1870, appears to have kept her two names throughout her lifetime (although a second daughter may have been born and named after her, as she loses five years between the 1871 and 1881 censuses).


• Louisa Fage, born 1874, may have been christened Louisa Elizabeth, but the only listing in the civil registration indexes I can find is for a Louisa Emma (though I haven't checked 1837Online).


• Elijah Jesse Fage, born 1878, again stuck to his names.


• Walter Fage, two days old at the time of the 1881 census, appears to have been registered under the name of George and appears as such in subsequent censuses (although Walter could have died and been followed by George Fage the following year).


• Sydney, Emma, Mabel and Arthur all appear to have kept their names intact.

So there might be a slight indication that the family changed their minds or used alternative names between christenings and later lives. At least I now seem to have found the death register entry for William J Fage aged 67 in Biggleswade in the March quarter of 1940 (which ties in with family accounts of the year of his death). Another one to order!