Help:Correcting a Last Name at Birth

Categories: WikiTree Help | Profile Editing Help

Sometimes you need to fix a mistake in a last name, or change someone from "Unknown". A Last Name at Birth (LNAB) is easy to edit but it should not be changed without careful consideration.

Significance of the LNAB

The Last Name at Birth (LNAB) is significant on WikiTree. It is used to create the WikiTree ID (e.g. Franklin-1) and the URL for the profile (e.g. https://www.WikiTree.com/wiki/Franklin-1).

When an LNAB is changed, in the background we need to create a new WikiTree profile and merge the existing profile into it.

LNABs should not be changed back-and-forth.

An LNAB should never be changed unless you have a high degree of confidence that the name you're changing it to is correct.

If you are uncertain whether the current LNAB is correct (e.g. you think that "Smith" is probably wrong but you don't know what it should be), explain your uncertainty in the text of the profile and leave the LNAB as-is.

Changing an LNAB

To change a Last Name at Birth simply click the "edit" link next to it on the edit page.

To do this you need be on the Trusted List. This is true even for Open profiles because of the special significance of LNABs.

This page was last modified 19:50, 8 October 2021. This page has been accessed 7,631 times.