I have ancestor who variously appears as Ossiann, Ocean, and Oceanna on different vital records. It's been pretty confusing since vital records are supposed to be dependable, though these aren't the first mistakes I've seen. Anyway, I'm not sure which variation is accurate. She was born in 1835 in Illinois, USA. I have no information on her parents as her last name appears variously as Landsbury, Sandsbury, and Salisbury. She's near impossible to get information on.
So I recently found out that there is an Ossian, Indiana (pr. oh-see-AN) and just learned that there is also an Ossian, Iowa and Ossian, New York, as well as a Loch Ossian in Scotland. So the possibility that it was Ossian is there. And, if she verbally gave her name to someone, pronouncing it as it is pronounced in Indiana, they might have interpreted it as Ocean. Oceanna would have naturally followed from that.
My question is, has anyone encountered Ossian as a given name before or know anything about the possibility of it being used as a given name in 1835?
"A room without books is like a body without a soul." - Marcus Tullius Cicero
http://listography.com/Telfalathiel
http://telfalathiel.tumblr.com/
http://babynames.com/namelist/9415432
http://www.behindthename.com/pnl/71785