When searching for French ancestors, the customs of adopting dit names must be kept in mind
, especially if difficulties suddenly arise when doing research. In this case, it may be necessary to begin searching both for the true surname and the dit name to make sure that members of the family tree are accounted for. To further confuse matters, as time went on, the dit' was sometimes omitted from the name, so that the true surname would be relegated to a middle name and the dit name became the accepted last name. The dit also sometimes became an apostrophe or a de' or du'.