Position:Home>Genealogy> Can anyone help me find the correct spelling of the surname BOAK/BOAG/BACHOP/BAC

Question:

Can anyone help me find the correct spelling of the surname BOAK/BOAG/BACHOP/BACHOPE/...

The lady I am researching in my family tree is (Janet Bachope etc....) who is my great, great, grandmother born circa 1780.
There are so many different spellings in my research and I would like to know which is most likely to be correct.
She was married to Robert Russell in Thornliebank, Glasgow, UK.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Your supposition is that any one spelling is more accurate than another. The reality is that surname spellings were very loose for hundreds of years, and especially in the 18th century. The answer is that the spelling was as good as the person entering the name. She may have given 10 different spellings of her surname on 10 different records. If you're unconvinced, look up William Shakespeare. He had a fine education and was clearly literate, but he was highly inconsistent in the spelling of his own name. Here's an interesting article that might help you understand that there was an age, not so long ago, when surnames weren't "that important" and their spelling was...well...lax.
http://shakespeareauthorship.com/name1.h...