Caveat: These are observations based on familiarity with the African-American names seen in Liberty County in court and church records, and may not apply to other locations. 

If you are starting with the name name of an African American in Liberty County, Georgia, found in, say, the 1870 census or other post-Emancipation records, here are some general guidelines. 

– Remember that enslaved African Americans did not get to choose how their names were represented in official records, but after the Civil War, they did. In antebellum records, white people were normally referred to with the “formal” version of their first name (e.g. Joseph vs. Joe, Benjamin vs. Ben), no matter what they were normally called. The opposite is true for African Americans; usually they had the more informal version of the name. It is possible that some people changed their names to the more formal version after Emancipation, so it is worth trying less formal or nicknames for searching these records. 

– Spelling varies widely in these records. Try as many different spellings as you can think of in your searches. Here are some possibilities for alternate searches:

If the name ends in “y,” try “ey” or “ie” (e.g. Sophy = Sophey or Sophie; Tony = Toney)
Look for doubled letters (Clarissa = Clarrissa; Harold = Harrold; Peg = Pegg; Scipio = Scippio; Louisa = Louissa).
If there is a “ph,” try replacing it with an “f” (Daphne = Dafney; Felix = Phelix).
Try substituting different vowels (Hercules = Harculas)
Try similar sounding letters (c = k or c = s or j = g; Battice vs. Battees; Cate vs. Kate; Genny vs. Jenny)
Try substituting an “i” for a “y” or vice versa (Polydore = Polidore)
Try combinations of the above (maybe Polidore is spelled Pollydore sometimes)
Imagine the name spelled as heard when said with a heavy Southern accent (names ending with -er or -ar spelled as -eh or -ah). 
It is very difficult to distinguish between Prince and Prime in handwriting. 

-Watch for common transcription errors:

Sometimes there is a flourish at the end of a name that can be mistaken for an “s”; try adding a final “s” to the name for the search.
The cross bar on a “t” or “tt” may have been omitted by the court clerk; try looking for the name with an “l” instead.
The difference between handwritten “r,” “n” and “v” in the middle of a word can be hard to see [Satira vs. Sativa].
The difference between handwritten capital “L” and “S” (and sometimes “T”) can be very difficult.
In the middle of a name, it can be difficult to distinguish between “nn” and “nc” [Fanny vs. Fancy; Nanny vs. Nancy]

-Enslaved people were often given classical names, and sometimes the name was misspelled (or spelled as heard). Examples are Agrippa (Grippa), Hercules (Harcules or variations), Cupid, Syphax (Syfax or Cyfax), Caesar (Ceasar or Cesar), Bacchus (Baccus, Backus), Venus.

-Enslaved people were often given days of the week or months as names. In Liberty County, these seem to have been used for men. (For example, June would be a man’s name.) Also, Carolina seems to have been a man’s name, at least sometimes. People were also given place names as names: Bristol, Lancaster, Glasgow, Hampshire, Dublin.