Not wanting to teach all the old dogs on here, new tricks, I did think that the following might be of some help to those not quite so experienced in tracing their family history, especially when they get back to the 1700 and 1800's. English Naming Pattern (c.1700 to c.1875). From the beginning of the 18th Century to end of the 19th Century, the naming convention for children born to English-speaking families often followed a basic pattern. Although the naming convention does not always follow this order, many children's given names originated from their ancestors. For example - the first son was usually named after the father's father. Below is the commonly accepted pattern: English Naming Patterns 1st Son -------------------------- Father's Father 2nd Son ------------------------- Mother's Father 3rd Son ---------------------------------- Father 4th Son ------------------ Father's Eldest Brother 1st Daughter --------------------- Mother's Mother 2nd Daughter --------------------- Father's Mother 3rd Daughter ------------------------------ Mother 4th Daughter --------------- Mother's Eldest Sister and so forth. Original Author Unknown. I have found this quite useful, particularly when they all insisted on naming their children by the same set of names, generation after generation! Cheers Diana
Very true, but back in those days (c1700 to c1875) it was only the 'posh' people who had middle names, or, in the case of most of our ancestors, many of whom were Wesleyans, it was considered that you were Catholic if you had a middle name...rightly or wrongly!
This is why I love my g g aunt Eleanor. She had 8 children and the 5 eldest were given family surnames as second names. She must have then run out of ideas as the 6th born was given same second name, Slater, as an elder sister. The youngest child was given a name that appears nowhere in the family, while the youngest but one was only given one name. For some reason he was christened in the Wesleyan and not Anglican church. It also helped that her children always used their second names.
Yesterday I met a lady from Liverpool who was telling me how she got her name. Her mother wanted her named after her mother who had passed away when she was very young... So when she was born her father was sent off to the registar's office . On the way he stopped at the local pub to "christen" the new baby. Well, he dallied too long and when he got to the registar's he had a problem remembering her name! He certainly couldn't remember the middle name at all and her first name is not exactly like it was supposed to be as he stumbled around her name enough they ended up using Susan, instead of Susannah! When asked the middle name he said their surname and they had a problem understanding that. She is the only one of several children in the family who doesn't have a middle name!
If it works it is very helpful. However some families [mine included] were a bit wayward in that respect and went off the straight & narrow - so to speak and called their children totally different names. Why? who knows - but it then unfortunately makes for problems.
Thank you Diana, that is always helpful to remember and as you say infuriating when they all named the kids the same name Btw love your new avatar
When a family seem to be following the pattern but then deviate I was advised to check the local history for important people in the area. Were the family respecting a local big wig? Or look at political leaders of the time as the family could be showing their allegiance. No idea if that could be a correct assumption. In one of my families it turned out to be because of a change in religion so a biblical name got thrown into the mix for the youngest child. Except of course when brothers all call their sons (born close in years and in the same area) after Dad In my case I have no idea which William married which wife twentyish years later
1st Son -William Stamper-----------Father's Father= ? maybe.. &/or a friend 2nd Son -John James--------------- Mother's Father=Thomas x 3rd Son --James--------------------Father=? 4th Son -Thomas Pendlebury-------- Father's Eldest Brother=? x,Mother's Father. 1st Daughter -Jane---------------- Mother's Mother = Jane 2nd Daughter --Nil--------------- Father's Mother= x 3rd Daughter --Nil---------------- Mother=x 4th Daughter --Nil-------- Mother's Eldest Sister= x Thomas,James & Jane also names of Hannah's siblings who died as babes. Maternal G'pts named 1st son after G'dad but known by his 2nd name, 2nd son died in first year of life named same as G'Dad's brothers, 1st & 2nd dtrs named for G'Ma's sisters, 3rd & 4th dtrs individual names.
A very good suggestion! I found someone who was baptised Oliver just as Oliver Cromwell came into power....and obviously before the Parish Records were scrapped by his regime!
"thalauafu posted: Very true, but back in those days (c1700 to c1875) it was only the 'posh' people who had middle names, or, in the case of most of our ancestors, many of whom were Wesleyans, it was considered that you were Catholic if you had a middle name...rightly or wrongly! In the West Country it was quite common to give girls a middle name which was either their mothers' or grandmothers' surname - I've got a couple in my lines going back to the 1750s
In my Paternal group my Gt.G'father William Stamper's Father was John. That's all I know of his ancestors..William may well have been John's Father,[I only have a 'possible' marriage for John to a Rachel- a name not repeated in family] The commonality of the names used may well have been in John's family as well as his wife Hannah's -her name used as 2nd name for Thomas P's dtr. Mary Ann & Lily Elizabeth being the only the only names for dtrs of my Gt.Gt. G'Dad in Australia. They may have come from his wife Jane Murphy -if she was not an orphan & foundling, which I begin to fear was her case.
This appears to have happened in my maternal grandmother's main line. King Charles II was very fond of Windsor Castle but it fell out of favour as a residence until the Regency Period, effectively becoming the centre of the Empire during the reign of Queen Victoria. It became fashionable to give the name to children and it was given to my g g grandmother's brother. Grandma clearly liked the idea; her eldest son was given the name, and her sons kept up the practice, as did their sons. . . .
Agree!! In Jamaica, it was quite common to name a child (legitimate or otherwise) after some well-known or wealthy man of the day. Threw me for a bit cuz I thought they were the biological father. LOL. But most of my Brits on both sides usually threw in the maiden name of the mother as a rule. Wendy....I have Stamper by marriage in my Cumberland people....wouldn't that be a hoot if we were distantly related!! He was from the Whitehaven area. I think. Will check. OK, it was a Jane Stamper born in 1712 in Flimby, CUL......just north of Whitehaven.....married to a John Allanby and they had 12 children. If you want any of their info, let me know. The Allanbys were a fairly well-to-do family that I eventually found out was not mine. Some came out to Canada.
I could use another 'hoot' Heather. I have a fondness for Yorkshire regions which is not far off Cumberland, maybe just a yen to get away from the Southern parts for a while. I did find a Samuel Stamper in Liverpool about the right time whom I thoght may have had a significant place in Gt.Gt.G'dad's life & so used his name for his sons. Gt.G'Dad here in Australia name his last son Samuel Pendlebury. [died in infancy ] Just enough to names continually haunt me
I too have a family who gave all their children, male and female a middle name. Unfortunately that middle name was Smith and in the early days some of the family went by the surname of Ashworth (ie George Smith Ashworth) and others simply used Smith as their surname! As one of our Prime Ministers once said "Life wasn't meant to be easy"
That is interesting, as I have a lot of Cornish and Devonshire ancestry....many lines in fact, but have never found one with a middle name until one branch moved to London, and then they did do it on the odd occasion. It was certainly a great help to me when I found that one!
Unless you have a tree like my Grandfather's (my Mum's Dad) where every eldest male child born is called John. So John has a son called John, but John has brother called, say, Alfred, who also calls his eldest son John and so on and so forth. So if I see another John in that family I will scream! Steve's Mums tree is full of odd names and we thought that they were surnames, but as yet have found no connection e.g. John Haddon Attenborough, but his Mothers maiden name was something else, so lord knows where that one come from. We have another middle name "Urray" but cannot find any Lady with a maiden name of Urray, and that middle name appears a lot in the tree.
They definitely seemed to go out of their way to make life difficult for us, didn't they? You certainly have some real beauties! (NOT)
