# Nickname or Alternate Name? **URL:** \ **Category:** RootsMagic\ **Tags:** familysearch, question, rootsmagic\ **Created:** [May 4, 2022, 1:01pm UTC](https://community.rootsmagic.com/t/nickname-or-alternate-name/4489 "2022-05-04T13:01:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ClipOn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@ClipOn](https://community.rootsmagic.com/u/ClipOn)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 1:01pm UTC](https://community.rootsmagic.com/t/nickname-or-alternate-name/4489/1 "2022-05-04T13:01:45Z")
Hello, I would like to know your best practices regarding every day naming of people. For example, when everyone use Freddy for Frederic or Mamita for a grandma named Margherita. If I create a Nickname in RM, it’s added with " between Given and Surname and nothing gets sync in FamilySearch (remains white both side in FamilySearch Person Tool Share data in RM) If I start from FS and create a Nickname too in Other Information / Alternate Name / Nickname, the sync adds an Alternate Name in RM, which is not what I want and Alt. Name fields remain yellow on both sides. Is this a known problem in RM8? Many thanks ---
**Author:** ![rzamor1](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/community.rootsmagic.com/rzamor1/32/8_2.png) [@rzamor1](https://community.rootsmagic.com/u/rzamor1)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2022, 12:29am UTC](https://community.rootsmagic.com/t/nickname-or-alternate-name/4489/2 "2022-05-05T00:29:47Z")
Add it as an alternate name if you want to add it to FamilySearch. ---
**Author:** ![ClipOn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@ClipOn](https://community.rootsmagic.com/u/ClipOn)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2022, 3:54am UTC](https://community.rootsmagic.com/t/nickname-or-alternate-name/4489/3 "2022-05-05T03:54:18Z")
For now I create both side, hoping that RM8 will be corrected, many thanks for your answer ---
**Author:** ![rzamor1](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/community.rootsmagic.com/rzamor1/32/8_2.png) [@rzamor1](https://community.rootsmagic.com/u/rzamor1)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2022, 2:15pm UTC](https://community.rootsmagic.com/t/nickname-or-alternate-name/4489/4 "2022-05-05T14:15:06Z")
It’s a matter of what the FamilySearch API will accept. They won’t accept the nickname field. They only support prefix [title], given, surname and suffix. ---
**Author:** ![dcslatter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5a626/32.png) [@dcslatter](https://community.rootsmagic.com/u/dcslatter)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2023, 3:52pm UTC](https://community.rootsmagic.com/t/nickname-or-alternate-name/4489/5 "2023-06-30T15:52:15Z")
Why not add the “nickname” to the given name field right before calling the API? I this also an issue with Ancestry Treeshare? ---
**Author:** ![markwhidby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@markwhidby](https://community.rootsmagic.com/u/markwhidby)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2025, 11:04pm UTC](https://community.rootsmagic.com/t/nickname-or-alternate-name/4489/6 "2025-02-19T23:04:15Z")
Revisiting this thread as I’m facing the same question: Nickname field vs Alternate Name Fact of type Nickname. I like that the Nickname field is quoted between Given and Surname. However, People Index panel doesn’t include Nicknames in results, but it does include Alt Names of type Nickname. I’m not a fan of having to enter the same information for an individual in multiples places, although I understand the use cases that need to be supported. I’d like to propose a Feature Request to include the Nickname field in Index search. ---
**Author:** ![rzamor1](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/community.rootsmagic.com/rzamor1/32/8_2.png) [@rzamor1](https://community.rootsmagic.com/u/rzamor1)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2025, 3:07pm UTC](https://community.rootsmagic.com/t/nickname-or-alternate-name/4489/7 "2025-02-20T15:07:28Z")
Confirming search request has been reported to development.