Don't let dit names get your French-Canadian research off-track.
Don't worry if you run across French
ancestors who seem to have two last names with the word dit (pronounced
“dee”) in the middle, as in Jacques Demet dit Beaulieu. The second
surname is called a dit name (dit is French for “called” or “said”).
Dit names differentiated branches of a family, making the names handy
for keeping track of a large clan.
Your ancestor's dit name could
be based on locale, a nickname, physical quality or any other
characteristic. French genealogy expert Jessica Hacken <arborgenealogy.com
says the practice of taking a second surname was more common in French
Canada than in France itself. You'll find advice for dealing with dit
names at <www.francogene.com/quebec/ditnames.php
>; get surname variations and known dit
names in the American-French Genealogical Society's database <www.afgs.org/ditnames/index1.html
From the July 2008 Family Tree Magazine.