Is Patsy short for anything?

Yes. Patsy is a nickname in most old records, and it usually points to Martha. Less often it stands in for Patricia and Patrick. Expect it in American records, mostly 1700s-1900s. A record that says Patsy and a record that says Martha can easily be the same person, so search both names before you rule anyone out.

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FAQs

Is Patsy a nickname?+

In old records, almost always - it stands for Martha or Patricia. Treat it as a pointer to a formal name until the documents prove otherwise.

Is Patsy a real name on its own?+

It mostly rode on Martha in the eras we track (1700s-1900s). If your ancestor's papers only ever say Patsy, record it as written and keep Martha as a candidate.

How does this nickname lookup work?+

It searches a curated dataset of historical nickname-to-formal-name mappings - in both directions - entirely in your browser. Nothing you type is uploaded or stored on our servers.

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