What is Soundex and how can it help me?
Soundex is an indexing system based on how a surname sounds rather than how it is spelled. This system enables one to search for a name even if it was recorded with a variety of spellings. By selecting one of the Soundex options on the search screen, this function will be performed automatically. If you wish to perform your own Soundex conversions, try our Soundex tool. This index gives the researcher the choice of using either the traditional Soundex system or the Extended Soundex system. The traditional system is based on the first letter of the last name, so it is crucial that this letter is known and has been correctly transcribed from documents. Occasionally, letters such as ‘I’ and ‘J’ are misread from paper documents and then incorrectly entered into the database. In such cases, the traditional Soundex system will not be useful. The Extended Soundex system, however, assigns a numeric code to the first letter and to later consonants. Because the code consists of only six numbers
