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I am going to strike while the iron is hot. You were so helpful and speedy in answering my previous query! In my family history project I have discovered several references to "Johanne" and "Ernest". This is despite the fact that I know that the parents of these people were born in Germany. I have not seen copies of birth certificates, but do you think I can safely assume that their born names were in fact "Johanna" and "Ernst" and the references I have seen are just English versions of their names? I know that there is an old saying that you mustn't assume anything in life, but I have checked several sources and the names "Johanne" and "Ernest" do not, and have never existed as German "vornamen"(first names).