{"id":2434,"date":"2015-10-15T07:50:51","date_gmt":"2015-10-15T12:50:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/geneosity.com\/?p=2434"},"modified":"2015-10-15T07:52:00","modified_gmt":"2015-10-15T12:52:00","slug":"are-you-using-soundex-for-ancestry-name-search","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/geneosity.com\/are-you-using-soundex-for-ancestry-name-search\/","title":{"rendered":"Are You Using Soundex for Ancestry Name Search?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Do you use soundex?<\/p>\n

*crickets chirping*<\/p>\n

If utter silence and some amount of confusion were your reaction when you read that, you\u2019re not alone. Many people who are interested in learning more about their family tree may be missing out on one small search tool that could help in big ways: namely, soundex.<\/p>\n

What, exactly, IS soundex?<\/p>\n

According to the fine folks at Wikipedia, soundex is<\/a>:<\/p>\n

a phonetic algorithm for indexing names by sound, as pronounced in English. The goal is for homophones to be encoded to the same representation so that they can be matched despite minor differences in spelling.<\/em><\/p>\n

Are you scratching your head again? Let\u2019s try and explain it using an example:<\/p>\n

You\u2019re talking with your mom about the family tree, and you\u2019re hoping to find out more about your great-grandmother, Sara Johnson.<\/p>\n

But wait.<\/p>\n

Is it Sarah or Sara? Johnson, Johnsen, Jonnsen, or maybe even Johansen?<\/p>\n

You could type in and search for each and every one of those combinations.<\/p>\n

Or, you could click the little box in the search feature you happen to be using that says \u201csoundex\u201d and let a computer do the work in a fraction of the time.<\/p>\n

\"soundex<\/a>
Soundex search (h\/t genealogy library slideshare)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In other words, soundex allows a search to consider similar-sounding names and return a list of multiple possibilities. Even if you know exactly how your relative\u2019s name is spelled, there\u2019s always the chance that the indexer or the census taker did not.<\/p>\n

Now, you\u2019ll notice that using soundex will sometimes return many more results than an exact search. If you\u2019re short on time, you may want to start with an exact search and use the soundex feature when you have more time (and patience \u263a) for sorting through the list. You can use any other identifying information you have, such as birth year or marriage date, to filter the results more precisely.<\/p>\n

Soundex:<\/strong> the tool in your toolbox you never even knew you had.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Do you use soundex? *crickets chirping* If utter silence and some amount of confusion were your reaction when you read that, you\u2019re not alone. Many … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":534,"featured_media":2435,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"generate_page_header":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nAre You Using Soundex for Ancestry Name Search?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn more about name searching programs that allow you to search for family names using a format known as soundex.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/geneosity.com\/are-you-using-soundex-for-ancestry-name-search\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Geneosity\" \/>\n\t<meta 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