Daily Ancestordictus
Dictus is Latin for "said" or "called": praedictus means "the aforesaid," referring to someone already named in the record.
Dictus means said or named. In registers it can introduce a nickname or second surname, as in Joannes Miller dictus Schmidt, John Miller called Schmidt. Praedictus and supradictus mean the aforesaid, pointing back to someone named earlier.
A dictus name can be the key to a family that used two surnames, so record both forms.
As seen in a recordName in a Latin register
Joannes Miller dictus Schmidt
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "dictus." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/latin/dictus. Last checked 2026-10-01.