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Archives"Fco." is an abbreviation for Francisco?
Yes it's true; it's a piece of prænomen information which I was never aware as to. I've come across a late-nineteenth century document which reflects this 3-letter 'term', and then discovered through research at OneLook.com and Amazon.com that said term denotes the masculine name Francisco. However, why is this so? At what time did this abbreviated form come into general use, and from what source? For a certainty it has been in existence for over 125 yrs now.
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I don't know about Francisco or Italian specifically, but in English it was common for many male first names to be abbreviated in a similar fashion during the 1800s (and possibly other eras too). I know for certain that William became Wm., George became Geo., and Thomas became Thos., and I'm sure there are others.
A more global search for male name abbreviations might produce the answer you're looking for.
A more global search for male name abbreviations might produce the answer you're looking for.
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Just to clarify a bit, names were abbreviated most often when individuals were travelling on boats or wagon trains and needed their name to be abbreviated to fit onto the passenger list, or manifest.
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Well . . .
Travelling was one reason, but there were plenty of others (particularly since wagon trains are specific to your country whereas the abbreviations happened everywhere).
Small forms etc were one reason for the abbreviations, but I've seen them used for other reasons too.
Travelling was one reason, but there were plenty of others (particularly since wagon trains are specific to your country whereas the abbreviations happened everywhere).
Small forms etc were one reason for the abbreviations, but I've seen them used for other reasons too.
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Thankyou, that adds further to my understanding. See, originally I was researching census records and came across the abbreviated name there. It makes sense that names might be shortened for space on, say, a small form. Also, the census-taker of the day may have employed a type of shorthand system.
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Now that is most interesting indeed. Thanks alot! :)
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