New research from Ancestry reveals that while ‘Elizabeth’ and ‘John’ are the most common boys and girls names in both family trees, there are several more unusual choices the young royals could opt for.

The royal family tree contains the most unusual names – with Boniface, Cyrian, Marmaduke, Slyvanus and Lancelot all featuring in the male line, while Eusebia, Honor, Thomasin, Ursula and Hyacinth appear for the females.

And while many of Kate’s female ancestors have more recognisable names, her ancestors weren’t without some interesting monikers as well. Among the boys are Garin, Lewen, Theophilus, Uriah and Elie, together with girls called Permelia, Albina, Edezer, Grissel and Jemima.

In today’s culture for celebrity baby names, Kate and William very well might decide to opt for a more unusual name themselves. With ‘Lancelot’, ‘Boniface’, and ‘Grissel’ among their forebears, they don’t need to look further than their own family tree.”

Interesting names aren’t just for those with royal blood.

What name do you think Prince William and Kate should choose? Let us know on our Facebook wall.

Sidney Reilly, the secret agent widely believed to be the inspiration for Ian Fleming’s legendary character James Bond, has been uncovered in an online archive available at Ancestry.com.au.

The record (shown above) was found in the British Army WWI Medal Rolls Index Cards, 1914-1920 collection, which details the medal entitlement of more than 4.8 million WWI soldiers. It reveals that Reilly’s Military Cross was issued for service in the Royal Flying Corps.

Sidney Reilly, known as the ‘Ace of Spies’, was an agent for Scotland Yard’s Special Branch who in 1918 joined Sir Mansfield Smith-Cumming, the first director of the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), as an operative for MI1 (a predecessor to MI6). His friend Sir Robert Bruce Lockhart knew Ian Fleming for many years and told him of Reilly’s espionage exploits. Later Fleming allegedly mentioned to a colleague at The Sunday Times that he had created Bond after hearing about Reilly.

In typical secret-agent fashion, much of Reilly’s life is shrouded in mystery. It is alleged that he worked undercover and stole revolutionary aircraft engine parts and weapon plans from the Germans before the First World War even began.  He was then dispatched on counter-Bolshevik operations in Germany and Russia during the conflict itself.

Reilly’s medal was awarded for his “distinguished services rendered in connection with military operations in the field”, which are said to have included parachuting behind enemy lines and disguising himself as a German officer in order to obtain undercover information.

His record is one of thousands of medal cards online, revealing the medals awarded to each First World War soldier. In addition, more than 50,000 of these cards also list details of covert operations undertaken or letters from next of kin on their reverse side, meaning thousands of people today can track down find the spy in their own family.

Ancestry.com.au’s researchers have also found another interesting James Bond-related fact; Daniel Craig is actually the half 19^th cousin of Queen Elizabeth II, his on-screen partner in crime during the acclaimed opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Brad Argent, Ancestry.com.au Content Director for Australia and New Zealand, comments: “James Bond himself would have been proud of this discovery – uncovering the ‘real’ James Bond among the millions of World War I records online.  The information contained on thousands of the medal cards available at Ancestry can help anyone find the ‘Bond’ in their own family tree.” 

In the first episode, British TV personality Bruce Forsyth receives a letter from an American woman who claims to be related to Bruce through his great-grandfather, Joseph Forsyth Johnson. The letter suggests that Joseph Forsyth Johnson was married to two women at the same time and that he died at sea. Determined to uncover his great grandfather’s secret history, Bruce’s investigation takes him from London to New York and on to the American South.

Other celebrities in this series include -

• Actor Rupert Everett
• Actress Dervla Kirwan
• TV presenter Monty Don
• Actor Rupert Penry-Jones
• Actor Alexander Armstrong
• Well known Aussie Jason Donovan
• Actor Hugh Quarshie
• Actor Alan Cumming

Tune into SBS One on Tuesday 8^th May at 7.30pm to see what Bruce discovers.

Join us on Facebook and Twitter for show reminders and discussions.

Many of you will be familiar with actor and producer Mel Brooks (born Melvin Kaminsky in 1926) and you can see him appearing in the 1930 US Census (shown below), living at 365 South 3^rdStreet, Brooklyn, New York, along with his brothers Irving, Leonard and Bernard and his mother Kittie.  Along with their age at last birthday it lists the nationality of their parents and their occupation.  It also lists the monthly rent as $24.50.  Mel’s father isn’t listed as he died in 1928.

Bob Dyer (born Robert Dies) was everywhere in Australian entertainment but perhaps he is best remembered as the host of Pick-a-Box for 14 years.  Bob was born in Tennessee and can be found in the 1930 US Census with his extended family in Davidson, Tennessee.  Bob lists his occupation as Vaudeville Actor – something of a contrast to his Carpenter father and Printer brother.

We’d be surprised if you’d ever come across Winifred before.  She was born Winifred Patty Harle in December 1889 in Scone, New South Wales to John and Martha Harle.  Winifred married Danish immigrant Jacob Christensen in Hamilton, New South Wales in 1914 and they had two daughters (Dorothy and Joyce) and made their way to California in 1920 aboard the Sonoma. Winifred and her family can also be found in the 1930 US Census living in 2320 Teviot Street, Los Angeles (shown below). 

Winifred became a US citizen in 1937 and died in California in 1975.  It is not known if Winifred ever returned to Australia. 

Winifred may not be famous like Bob Dyer or Mel Brooks but she’s someone’s ancestor – maybe she’s yours.  Census records from any country are always worth looking at – you never know how many missing pieces of your tree might be just a simple search away….

You can search the 1930 US Census for free on Ancestry.com.au from Friday 17 February to 11pm AEDT Tuesday 21 February 2012. Check out our latest video with Ancestry’s Brad Argent on the 1930 US Census and how it can help you track down missing ancestors.

Ashley used family trees and records from England to discover she descends from a famous Mayflower passenger who stood up for religious freedom.

She searched military records on the Ancestry website (shown below) to find a great-great-great- grandfather who lost a leg and was imprisoned twice while fighting in the Civil War.

Looking for an ancestor of your own? Here are our top tips for searching Military records -

• Enter as much information as you can into your Ancestry search – name, birth date or relevant places your ancestors may have lived. The more you tell us about your ancestor, the easier it will be to find good matches about him or her.
• Remember to allow for name spelling variations and that sometimes records only used one or more initials for the given names.
• Since each military collection includes different information, it is valuable to search collections that apply to your ancestor individually. Once you see the results for some individuals you can see what terms might be useful in the Keyword field to refine your search.
• Once you find a matching military record, save it to your Ancestry family tree – that way you can provide evidence to back up the info in your family tree, easily share your discover with your family, and quickly find the historical record again later.

Missed this episode or last week’s episode with Gwyneth Paltrow? You can now watch them online!

Want to discuss the show? Leave a comment, join us on Facebook or Twitter and let us know what you think!

Here are 3 steps to help you discover the true stories of your ancestors.

Step 1: Plot the basic facts

Create a simple timeline with basic information about your ancestor, starting off with their birth record. Add immigration years from passenger lists. Search for more details in family trees and ask your family what they know. Save your discoveries in your Ancestry.com.au family tree so they’re all easily accessible in one place.

Step 2: Fill in the details

Search for marriage information using clues from other records. No year listed? Try searching for a marriage one or two years before a couple’s oldest child was born. Add information from death records and obituaries for all family members too, as a death in the family likely had a huge impact on survivors’ lives.

Step 3: Search locally

See if you can find local histories that provide insight into the people and the area. Contact a historical society near your ancestor’s home to learn about events and trends that may have triggered a move or a change of jobs or schools. And review local newspapers which may have reported on events directly related to your family.

Have you got any tips on discovering the true stories of your ancestors? Leave a comment!

Want to discuss the show? Leave a comment, join us on Facebook or Twitter and let us know what you think!

Over the coming weeks, some of the biggest stars in the US will trace their family tree and make discoveries about their ancestors.

The celebrities in this series include –

• Oscar winner Gwyneth Paltrow
• Actress and performer Vanessa Williams
• Country superstar Tim McGraw
• Comedienne and actress Rosie O’Donnell
• Actress Kim Cattrall
• R&B superstar Lionel Richie
• Actor Steve Buscemi
• Actress Ashley Judd

First up is Academy Award™winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow  who traces the roots of her paternal grandfather, a man driven to succeed in the face of adversity. She uncovers a string of events that give her insight into her great grandmother’s character. On her mother’s side, Paltrow discovers that her ancestors have deep roots in the Caribbean island of Barbados.

Tune into Channel 9 this Wednesday night at 10pm AEST to see what she discovers.

Want to discuss the show? Leave a comment on our blog, join us on Facebook and tell us what you think! You can also follow us on Twitter – simply add #WDYTYA to your tweets to join the conversation.

From 29 August – 6 September 2011, we are giving you free access to all our immigration and travel databases from around the world. 

You can search 329 databases and more than 122 million records from the mid-1500s to mid-1990s to unlock the clues to your ancestor’s immigration. If you are one of the 29% of Aussiesⁱwho does not know the details of your ancestors’ arrival in this country, these records could assist you and millions of others in uncovering information about how and when your family came to land in Australia.

These records contain information about migrant ancestors who arrived in a new country and applied for citizenship or naturalisation in their new home land. They contain   

• Passenger arrival records
• Naturalisation records
• Border crossings
• Emigration records
• Passport applications
• Convict transportation records

The databases include records from Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Ireland, Europe, United States, and Canada, so you can trace the movements of your ancestors to understand how and when they arrived where they did.

Many early immigrants and their descendants went on to achieve fame and notoriety in Australia including the late Heath Ledger’s great grandfather and Nicole Kidman’s 2x great-grandfather (you can view their records here). 

Other famous names included in these records are passport applications for Walt Disney (shown below) and Franklin Roosevelt, as well as passenger lists of ships carrying Oscar Wilde and Charlie Chaplin.  

Walt Disney Passport Application

Search for free until 9PM 6 September 2011 (AEST) at www.ancestry.com.au/travel. Let us know if you make any interesting discoveries!   

 ⁱThe Australians’ attitudes towards family history survey was commissioned by Ancestry.com.au and was conducted by The Online Research Unit (ORU) who polled a nationally representative sample of a 1000 people across Australia aged 18 and over, October 2010.

The new collection documents the names and journeys of more than 14.5 million people who travelled to Australia between 1788 and 1923 in search of a new life.

With almost a third (29%) of Australiansⁱnot knowing the details of their ancestors’ arrival in Australia, these new records will help millions of Aussies in uncovering information about how and when their family came to land on these shores.

These records include a wealth of information which can help you build or grow your family tree, including

• Name
• Age
• Occupation
• Ship Name
• Date and port of arrival and departure

Many early immigrants and their descendants went on to achieve fame and notoriety in Australia. Notable examples found in these records include –

• Heath Ledger’s great -grandfather Edson Ledger arrived in Fremantle with his family around 1881 aboard the Fitzroy. Edson and his brother Joseph went on to create a successful engineering company, manufacturing many of the pipes used in the 550km long Goldfields Pipeline.
  
   
• Nicole Kidman is descended from assisted Irish settlers Bridget and James Callachar, who arrived in Sydney in 1842 (on board the Agnes Ewing). Listed as agricultural labourers, they settled in Port Macquarie where they had a son, Nicole’s great great-grandfather. Thousands of Irish refugees arrived on Australian soil during the 1840s, many coming over in ‘coffin ships’, fleeing the Irish potato famine.
  
   
• Donald Bradman’s grandfather, Charles Bradman, was an assisted immigrant who arrived in April 1855 on the Rose of Sharon. The records show that he was a labourer from Withersfield in Suffolk. Donald went on to become one of Australia’s most popular sporting heroes, widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time with a career average of 99.94!
  

Although Australia has strong convict roots, many early European settlers made their way here of their own free will to join convict relatives, to own land for the first time, find gold or simply escape life back home.

To discover where your ancestors came from and start to uncover their personal stories, visit www.ancestry.com.au/immigration.

ⁱ The Australians’ attitudes towards family history survey was commissioned by Ancestry.com.au and was conducted by The Online Research Unit (ORU) who polled a nationally representative sample of a 1000 people across Australia aged 18 and over, October 2010.

Boys under the age of 16 were sent to these schools by Justices of the Peace. The children would remain there until they were apprenticed out after the age of 12, discharged, or reached 18 years of age. The schools included religious instruction, moral, industrial, and nautical training, as well as elementary schooling.

The information in the records include:

• Name
• Birth year and place
• Date received
• Ship
• Father’s and/or Mother’s name

One of the more well-known former residents on the Sobraon was Australian swimmer Bernard ‘Barney’ Kieran.

Born in Sydney in October 1886, Barney was the youngest child of Irish parents Patrick and Annie. In 1891, Patrick died in a train accident, leaving behind a widow and six children. He attended the local convent school, learned to read and write, but at 13 became delinquent.

According to the Entrance book for the Sobraon, Barney Kieran was: “found habitually wandering about [the] streets in no ostensible lawful occupation”. The evidence from his mother stated that ‘the boy will not go to school, that he stops out at night and that she has no control over him’.

After being committed by the Water Police Court on 1 March 1900, Barney was sent to the Sobraon. Given the opportunity, he made a success of his time on the Sobraon and his mentor W Hilton Mitchell encouraged him to take up swimming, which turned his life around and saw him become a world champion swimmer.

Learn more about Barney’s swimming career and untimely death at the State Records NSW Digital Gallery dedicated to Barney Kieran. There you will also find a number of photographs and digital records telling the story of his short but eventful life.

Barney was one of around 5,000 boys admitted to the nautical training ships Vernon and Sobraon between 1867 and 1911.

Search Entrance Books for the Vernon and the Sobraon 1867-1911