Was the baby unnamed?

[LizzieL]

I have come across this baptism for a son of William Eltom in Bampton Oxon. I am not sure whether the baby actually had a name and the writing is so faded I can't read it. Or the symbol where forename should be signifies he was baptised but he hadn't been given a name yet.
Any ideas, please.

[groom]

Can you be baptised without a name? I think it may have faded and perhaps ended in a y.

[LizzieL]

I suppose you can't baptise without a name, I was thinking of civil registration. Seen plenty written as just male or female then the surname.

I think I can see a "y" now, but can't obviously make out a name. William Eltom already had sons called Henrie, William, James and Thomas and his father was called Henrie/Henry.

[BumbleB]

I believe the first letter of the child's name is N - looking at other entries on the page.

[stanmapstone]

Church of England Baptism; The Book of Common Prayer says "Then the Priest shall take the Child into his hands, and shall say to the Godfathers and Godmothers Name this Child."
http://www.rootschat.com/links/01gll/


Stan

[lizdb]

It could be that the vicar filled in the register at a later date and couldn't remember the name the of the child, thus left it blank with the intention of checking it out and coming back to fill it in later, but it got forgotten.

[BumbleB]

Just a thought - perhaps contact the Records Office and ask the question as to whether the records on Ancestry are the parish records or the Bishop's Transcripts?  Also whether they hold both for Bampton.  Sometimes one set of records holds more information than the other    You may be lucky and find Master Elthom's name    And at least you have the date of his baptism to help them.

[LizzieL]

I've seen a number where the vicar regularly left a blank for the mother's name. Some had obviously been filled in later - different pen/ darker or lighter ink , "Mary" and "Ann" spread out to fill space, "Catherine" and "Elizabeth" squeezed in.

My thoughts in those cases were that the mother did not attend the christening because she was still recovering from the birth (or even sadly died in childbirth), this may indicate the baby was christened when only a few days old.

[LizzieL]

I believe the first letter of the child's name is N - looking at other entries on the page.

The n looks lower case to me - could it be second letter of Antony?. I have a burial for an Antony in 1701, no indication of age, but also no indication that this Antony was an infant, child, youth or old man when he died.