Naming pattern may be hints to ancestors' names

[RosemaryC]

In earlier times, many Scottish families followed a naming pattern for their children. Scotlands People, the Scottish government-run site on which you can find birth, marriage and death records for a fee, describes the pattern this way:
1st son named after father's father
2nd son named after mother's father
3rd son named after father
1st daughter named after mother's mother
2nd daughter named after father's mother
3rd daughter named after mother

This pattern can be helpful in identifying parents in the Old Parish Records, although it wasn't used by everyone. You can find more about this pattern here.

 

[Anne B]

I think this is the same tradition in Ireland and England. It has been useful clue in my research. Are there any other naming patterns in general use?

 

[Valzie]

My Ayrshire ancestors almost all adhered to this pattern in naming their children; but those from Wigtownshire and Forfarshire (Angus) did not.

 

[Katie Bee]

My fathers side of the family often used the mother's maiden name or grandmother's maiden name as a middle name for both sexes.

 

[Valzie]

And when that happens, it's such a gift! Have you noticed that sometimes it's not just a matter of a middle name, but of giving a child her grannie's first name and maiden name - or even first name, maiden name and married name? (My Elizabeth Boe Murdoch Park b. Muirkirk, Ayrshire 1842 led me all the way back to her grannie, Elizabeth Boe/Bow/Boa b. Crawfordjohn, Lanark 1743, who married James Murdoch in 1764.)
In fact, I think it's always good to consider the possibility that first name and middle name might go together: another member of the same family was William Niven Murdoch b.Muirkirk, Ayrshire 1875, named in honour of Mr William Niven, who gave the land on which Muirkirk's first school was built.

 

[Liberty]

My family are largely English but I too bless them when they use a family surname as a Christian name. Whether my relatives felt the same when labelled Tuttell or Culley is doubtful, of course. I have a link by marriage to the wonderfully-named Webb Salmon - bet he had a tough time of it!

 

[Bee]

If the middle name is not a family name it could be that of a godparent. I have one particular branch in which this was the custom for a couple of generations.

 

[Alexander Bisset]

My father has the same middle name as his grandfather my great grandfather. However he didn't know where it came from. The name appears nowhere in my tree other than the next door neighbours on the 1901 census had that surname. The neighbour was a butcher (employer) and next door my 2g grandfather was a butcher (employee) so I am thinking that my 2g grandfather used his employer and neighbours surname for my great grandfather's middle name.

 

[GrahamC]

My father has the same middle name as his grandfather my great grandfather. However he didn't know where it came from. The name appears nowhere in my tree other than the next door neighbours on the 1901 census had that surname. The neighbour was a butcher (employer) and next door my 2g grandfather was a butcher (employee) so I am thinking that my 2g grandfather used his employer and neighbours surname for my great grandfather's middle name.

Would the first bearer of this middle name possibly have been illegitimate? Was he the eldest child in the family? I have found that sometimes an illegitimate child (or one not fathered by his mother's husband) was given the real father's surname as a middle name. This occurs several times in my family.

 

[alanmack]

Several strands of my family are of Scottish origin, and, yes, they do give lip service to the notion of "Scottish Naming Patterns". I have observed however that they do not adhere to this strictly when living in England. As a result strange middle names intrude, often themselves of Scottish type and these may have been those of godparents. One example I have from 1824 is Anne McDiarmid Menzies (my GGM's oldest sister). It probably isn't just co-incidence that one of the witnesses at her parents' wedding in 1820 in London was one Angus McDiarmid. The other names are Robert Campbell Menzies (1822) and Clephen Cairns Menzies (1826) after which the practice seems to have ceased and regular Christian names are used.

 

[AndyMick]

Naming patterns can be helpful hints, but IMHO treat with some caution. I have 2x John Curtis Micklethwaite, one named after the other. The contact who researched that branch discovered that Mr Curtis was a good friend of the first's father. So widen the "pattern" to include godpparents etc. whose name may have been used as the middle name.

 

[Alexander Bisset]

Would the first bearer of this middle name possibly have been illegitimate? Was he the eldest child in the family? I have found that sometimes an illegitimate child (or one not fathered by his mother's husband) was given the real father's surname as a middle name. This occurs several times in my family.

No the first bearer of the name my great grandfather was the youngest in a family of eight, so whilst none of my lot were pattern followers it looks like they had kind of run out of family names by the time they got to him.

 

[Marguerite]

My great grandfather was Johann Friedrich Hermann Pfisterer, a pork butcher in Rotherham and Mexborough. His "Rufname" was Hermann, i.e. the name by which he was normally known.

I also found that if a child died within 2-3 years or less, a later born child was often given his christian name. Apropos "christian name" I don't think this is politcally correct (don't ask me how long I took to discover what PC meant!).

A most misleading fact are the census entries where the children were often entered by then name they usually answered to!!

Never forget that "William" could have been christened "John Frederick William" and on his death certificate he might have been entered as the latter.

Genealogy is not just based on facts. Those who have flexible minds and a certain amount of imagination will be able to further their research to unlimited realms.

 

[Pauline]

A most misleading fact are the census entries where the children were often entered by then name they usually answered to!!

I have a family whose children were all given two (or more) forenames, and in the 1841 census they are listed with just their first forename and in the 1851 census with the name they usually used - which for many of the children wasn't the first one. Until I'd found most of the birth or baptism entries I wasn't quite sure if it was the same family or not!

 

[Susan48]

Are there any other naming patterns in general use?

In the early 1800s, when my Colchester ancestors and their collateral lines had large families and had used up the family forenames James, John, and Daniel, they started to name their sons William, George, Alfred and Arthur. I've been wondering whether this was after the royals of the time? Of course, once introduced these names were carried on through successive generations by several collateral lines simultaneously!

 

[Alexander Bisset]

Apropos "christian name" I don't think this is politcally correct (don't ask me how long I took to discover what PC meant!).

Most individuals we are searching for would have been christians so the term whilst inaccurate is acceptable to use. These days its simply wrong, nothing to do with being politically incorrect its just plain wrong.

Only christians would have a christian name, to assume otherwise is just incorrect. These days the majority of the population aren't christians practising or otherwise. In day to day use it is rarely encountered these days but you do occasionally come across official forms using this term. Often for minor things eg: last time I saw it was on the introductions form for a tour I'd booked on. So of course I filled it in as not applicable. This did cause the tour manager some issues but if the company provides forms with invalid questions they can only expect accurate answers. I wasn't going to lie and say I had a christian name.

 

[Bryman]

Only chistians would have a chistian name, to assume otherwise is just incorrect.

Although chRistians might also have a chRistian name given at the time of christening and that does not refer to whether that individual maintains christian beliefs later in life. More generally, I prefer to use the term 'forename' to cover a larger multitude of sins.

 

[Alexander Bisset]

Oops I can't spell

 

[Liberty]

I have a family whose children were all given two (or more) forenames, and in the 1841 census they are listed with just their first forename and in the 1851 census with the name they usually used - which for many of the children wasn't the first one. Until I'd found most of the birth or baptism entries I wasn't quite sure if it was the same family or not!

Recognise this! I have families where I have reduced the number of children, having pencilled in the names from successive censuses, then registered that e.g Susan b c 1871 was the same as the Annie of about the same age. One family I almost halved in size!