A free worksheet for comparing family-name spellings
Surname variant chart you can fill in and print.
Copy the name form you read, identify its source and keep a search idea clearly labeled. Compare the clues without assuming that similar names belong to the same person.
Up to 20 name forms · Sources and search ideas · Text download · Blank or filled printing · No account
Getting the worksheet ready…
Preserve the spelling before interpreting it
Choose a surname and, if useful, the person or family you are researching. Add a name form exactly as you read it, with a question mark or another clear note when a letter is uncertain. Record the date, place and context that make it relevant, then keep a source reference you can return to. Use Search idea for a spelling you have not found in a source.
The Family Tree Magazine research-forms catalog includes an ancestor surname variant chart for organizing variant forms and spellings. The National Archives explanation of Soundex describes a surname index based on sound rather than spelling, with differently spelled names such as Smith and Smyth filed together. That is an indexing method; this original worksheet records your own name forms and source notes.
A name form is a clue, not an identity match
Compare the place, date, household and other relevant evidence before deciding that entries concern the same person. A shared spelling or index code does not establish a relationship. Keep an observed spelling separate from an idea you plan to search, and leave an unresolved comparison marked uncertain.
A fictional example
Surname in focus: Zebulon. Name form: Zebulun? Status: Seen in a source. Date and place: Exampletown, around 1940. Context: A same-name directory entry. Source and uncertainty: Directory image, page 42; the final vowel is unclear and I have not established the person’s identity. Next comparison: Read the original image and compare an address in another record.
Before you save your chart
Is this a free printable surname variant worksheet?
Yes. A chart with no name-form changes prints ten blank comparison rows and writing lines. Filled printing includes a comparison overview and the fields you entered, with each form’s original number. Source-only and status-only forms remain; untouched forms are skipped. TXT keeps the included forms and marks unfilled fields with an underline.
Will it generate surname variations or calculate Soundex codes?
No. You enter the spellings and search ideas yourself. This is a comparison worksheet, not a name generator, Soundex calculator, record search or identity-matching service. The source links can help you understand the records or indexes you are using.
Can I record a source before I can read the name?
Yes. Keep the source and an explanation of what is unclear. That entry remains in the overview, text download and filled printing even if its name field is empty. You can also record an idea to try without presenting it as an observed historical spelling.
Are my name forms uploaded or saved?
They stay only in this page’s memory. They are not uploaded or autosaved; refreshing or closing clears them. Download text or print before leaving. Saved TXT or PDF copies cannot be reopened here as an editable chart. Include only details you want in your saved copy.
Can I print a PDF before the comparisons are finished?
Yes. Choose Review my chart, then Print or save PDF. Browser-menu printing also works from the editor. Choose Letter or A4 and check the preview. Long notes can continue onto later pages; field labels retain the name-form number.
Keep the story behind the name
Save your chart first. MemoirWell’s separate guided interview can help you develop your own memory into an AI-assisted draft chapter to check and edit. These name-form notes are not transferred automatically.
Start a free first chapterDownload or print your chart before leaving this page.