Mother Maiden Surname

[GarryTH]

Hi
I've just started tracing my heritage.
I was adopted as a baby and know my birth name as Nicholas John Thompson from my adoption certificate.
I have found my entry on my birth certificate on Ancestry and in the Mothers Surname column it has "Thompson or Eichenhopher".
Would someone be able to tell me why this is and how I go about searching further.
I haven't found Ancestry to be very easy to use if you have little information.
Thankyou

[christanel]

Welcome to the Brit-Gen forums.
I see that on FreeBMD the second given maiden name for your birth mother has the spelling Eichenhofpher. If you intend buying this certificate then only order it through the GRO as other sites charge more. Also be sure to use all the details as given on FreeBMD or the GRO index. https://www.gov.uk/order-copy-birth-...ge-certificate
Actually the GRO index doesn't have the indexes for the period 1935 to 1984 so you will have to use the details given on the FreeBMD site.
Another spelling of your birth mother's surname on a tree on ancestry is Eichenhofer but if ordering certificates use the spelling given in the index.
I really don't know why your birth mother would have given two maiden names when recording your birth details (if it was she who registered your birth) only that she may have been using the name Thompson as it made it easier for her rather than spelling out her birth name. Anyone can use whatever name they choose to without an official record of a name change as long as the name change is not for criminal purposes.
I wonder if she reverted to her birth surname later and dropped the Thompson. Could it be a clue to your father's identity?
Christina

[Lesley Robertson]

It is possible that if the lady had previously been married, she wasn’t sure whether to use her maiden name or the name oshe was known by. If the German name was her maiden name, she might have been caught out by an unfamiliar English term (for example, after a long time in he Netherlands, my Dutch is reasonably good until I have to deal with a subject that doesn’t come up in daily life).

Have you tried any of the organizations that are supposed to help adopted people? Our forum about adoption, by necessity, can only deal with old data, but you may find a useful link there.

[Peter Goodey]

In case of any lingering doubt, you simply must obtain the certificate. The certificate contains essential information which is not reflected in the index.

[wimsey]

there was an EICHENHOFER to THOMPSON marriage in 1928, Brighton, England. But perhaps I've missed the point.

[GarryTH]

Thankyou for your help Christanel. I have just ordered my birth certificate.

[GarryTH]

Thanks Peter, just ordered it

[Peter Goodey]

know my birth name as Nicholas John Thompson from my adoption certificate.

This puzzles me. An adoption certificate shows the adoptive name, not the birth name. If, on the other hand, he doesn't mean "adoption certificate" but means the birth certificate annotated "adopted" then why is he asking the question.

[GarryTH]

Hi Peter
I remember finding the certificate as a child. I clearly remember my birth name being on it but maybe it was some other form of documentation. The entry in the index matches my birth date and also the name that I remember

[GarryTH]

Also my birth certificate in my adoptive name is also for "Cuckfield" so I think it would be too much of a coincidence not to be the same entry