How GMOL Performs Searches Using Reference Codes

The Problem in Searching for Names in GRanDMA

In the historic population of Mennonites and Hutterites from Prussia and Russia, the spellings of names changed from time-to-time, even within a single family. Consequently, searching for an individual can be difficult. The GRanDMA database accommodates these multiple spellings or translations of the same name by searching a family of names.

For example, John, Johann, Hans, Ivan, Shawn and many more are actually the same name. So when you do a standard GMOL search, you can enter any version of "John", and GMOL will search for all. The same is true of surnames, such as Dyck, Dueck, Dick, van Dyck, etc. The Name-Family Lookup page will list all the forms of a name for you.

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Reference Codes for GMOL Searches

Decades ago, a code system was developed by the GRanDMA committee for Low German names and given names. When you enter a name, the code for that name, the Reference Code, is retrieved. That code is used as the basis for the search. For John van Dyck or for Hans Dueck, that Reference Code is /049jo, jo for John or Hans, etc., and 049 for Dueck, Dick, van Dyck, etc.

The Reference Code appears under the name in the Individual Profile as /049jo together with the GRanDMA Number. A Ref Code Widget will look up the codes for you.

When you perform a standard GMOL search, you enter a given name and a surname. Then GMOL looks up the Reference Code for that name. It then searches for individuals with that Reference Code instead of searching for individuals with the name that you entered. If you thought the individual was "Jon Dick", but his proper name was "Jonathan Dyck", it will find the individual.

(The use of codes can be over-ridden by un-checking the option to include all variations.)

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Other Name-Search Variations in GMOL

There are other variations in the name fields that GMOL also addresses, as of July, 2025:

Preferred Middle Name. Some individuals are commonly known by their middle name. In the GRanDMA database, the preferred middle name is indicated by writing the middle name in All-Caps. If a person named Alan Timothy is commonly known as "Timothy", GRanDMA records his given name as "Alan TIMOTHY". An additional Reference Code is generated.
Nickname. Some individuals are commonly known by a nickname that is not part of their legal name; this name is represented in quotes. If "Alan Timothy" is commonly known as "Jake", GRanDMA records his given name as 'Alan Timothy "Jake"', and an additional Reference Code is be generated.
Former name. If there was a name change (not including marriage), the previous name is placed in parentheses and entered as part of the given name. In GMOL, the search follows this procedure:
- If there are 2 words in parentheses, e.g. "Alan Timothy (George Dyck)", assume that the entire name was changed. An additional Reference Code is generated for "George Dyck".
- If there is only one word in parentheses, e.g. "Alan Timothy (Dyck)", it could be a changed given name or surname; there is no information to tell us. GMOL assumes that the parenthetical name is a surname. An additional Reference Code is generated for "Alan Dyck" as well as for Alan with the Surname.
Hyphenated surname. If the surname is hyphenated, only the name after the last hyphen is searched.

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Examples

Let's try the following rather complicated example:
Alan TIMOTHY "Jake" (George Dyck) Rempel-Friesen.

Here GMOL generates 4 Reference Codes for various possible combinations.

For Alan TIMOTHY "Jake" (Dyck) Rempel-Friesen, we assume that only the individual's surname was changed; the given names remain. GMOL generates 6 Reference Codes

These multiple codes ensure that no matter which of these names is entered, if it's in the database, the individual can be found.

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