Why Do Census Records Sometimes Have Conflicting Information?
- By Aíne Lagan ·


Census records are your guiding star when researching your family tree. For most of us, they’re our starting spot for going back through the generations – but census records can often have conflicting information. The onus of providing correct information is always on the individual providing the information, leading to common errors with names, the occasional white lie about ages, and false relationship status for the sake of public appearance.
Just because a census record is official, doesn’t mean it’s always correct. This fact is especially true when you consider the social context of different branches of your family tree. Our Consistency Checker helps you find and correct these inconsistencies. We’re exploring why census records can have conflicting information and some of the most common errors you’ll find.
Why Census Records Can Have Mistakes
You might be researching a relative you think was born in 1912, only to find a census record that suggests they were born almost a decade earlier. This discovery is more common than you might think. Most conflicting information on census records is due to human error, but sometimes it can be deliberate (or accidental!) on the part of the relative.
Until mail-in enumeration was introduced in 1960, census forms were filled out by enumerators hired to go house to house interviewing people orally. Mistakes happen and mishearing or misspelling a detail could result in census record errors. If an enumerator knocked on the door and no one was home, they would interview neighbors for the household’s details, which could also lead to incorrect information.
While small inconsistencies like spelling errors are often copying mistakes, most false information was provided to avoid potential taxes, maintain social appearances, or simply because your ancestor didn’t know the correct answer. Before the 1880s, birthdays weren’t celebrated, so it wouldn’t have been uncommon to not know your exact date of birth or even your age.
6 Common Census Record Mistakes
Almost every aspect of the census records could be incorrect, leading to genealogy errors, especially when tracing your family tree back through the Victorian era and beyond.
1. First Names
Do you go by a nickname? The chances are that your ancestors did as well. It wasn’t until 1875 that a focus was put on having a child’s birth registered by their parents or the householder, so it wasn’t uncommon for a householder to incorrectly spell their name.
Many people, as they do now, would choose to go by a different name than what was assigned to them at birth without changing it by deed poll. You may find an ancestor who goes by the same name on all their census records but has a conflicting name on their birth certificate.
2. Surnames
You’ll often find this error with female ancestors, particularly those who return to their maiden name before remarrying due to the social stigma around divorce. Many widows followed this practice, describing themselves as ‘spinsters’ on their census records. If you find an ancestor without a marriage certificate who is registered on the census under a different surname, they may have taken their partner’s surname without getting married to avoid the social consequences of an illegitimate child.
3. Age
We all lie about our age sometimes, but this was often done deliberately in census records. You may see a female ancestor age themselves up to conceal the fact they were pregnant at a young age or knock a few years off their age if they’re marrying later in life. In most cases, people simply didn’t know how old they were, so these inconsistencies were honest mistakes.
4. Home Addresses
While some people may be registered twice on a census or not at all, it’s possible your ancestor was deliberately omitted from the census record. It was common practice by suffragettes protesting their inability to vote, particularly with the 1911 England and Wales Census, and those seeking to avoid potential taxes.
5. Relationship Status
You might discover a census record that shows an inconsistency for a relative you thought was married. Divorce has only become widely accepted socially in the last three decades. It wasn’t uncommon for divorcees hoping to remarry to list themselves as being a bachelor, spinster, or widow in census records.
6. Occupation
Having a side hustle might be a common practice today, but most of our ancestors worked at least two jobs at once, often out of financial necessity. If you find a distant uncle listing different occupants on government documents, it’s possible they were doing all these at once, instead of jumping between jobs. Remember, most official documents only allow for one occupation to be listed.
Discover Your Family History with MyHeritage
Census records aren’t the only information you have at your disposal when researching your family ancestry – and these documents can often provide the solution to census errors. You can cross-reference census information with birth records, marriage certificates, and official documents to resolve any inconsistencies or incorrect information.
At MyHeritage, we help you sort through this conflicting information and get to know your ancestors. Our indexed census data and scans of original documents make it easy to read enumerator notes and spot potential spelling errors.
Ready to start exploring the past? MyHeritage offers hundreds of census and voter list collections containing more than a billion records from all over the world. Start building your family tree by searching census records on MyHeritage today.