Family tradition of using O'Connell as an additional middle name

[Boudicca95]

Hi there

I wonder if anyone can help me with this. I have noticed a few different ancestors using the name O'Connell as an additional middle name. It is definitely not part of a double barrelled surname.

It is not an actual surname of anyone I can find in my family tree and different generations use it - my great uncle, my great, great grandfather, my great, great aunt are the only ones I can find at the moment.

I was wondering if this was a common tradition at the time in Ireland. I assume they are named after the Irish political leader Daniel O'Connell, but I could be wrong and not seeing an obvious alternative here. Any thoughts?

Many thanks

Liz

[aghadowey]

I was wondering if this was a common tradition at the time in Ireland.
What period are you talking about- you haven't given any indication of dates or location (which may also be significant).
Using Family Search with exact matches for O'Connell as first name and exact matches for Ireland there are 47 results but could be other's whose middle name is not listed in every record and of course some of the results could refere to the same person more than once. LINK

[Boudicca95]

Thanks for your reply. Oops, good point.

My great grandfather William Henry O'Connell Barrett was born in 1836 in Roscarbery, Cork, Ireland. The name is only used on his grave records - no where else as far as I can tell. My great, great aunt Annie E O'Connell Barrett born in Delhi India in 1856 (she was his daughter) - again found in her grave records and my great uncle Henry O'Connell Barrett was born in 1896 in Birr, Ireland - but this time the name appears on his war record and his war medal which he got when he died in the first world war. I have also remembered another relative son of Henry O'Connell's sister who has the middle name as well, only he was born in England - John O'Connell Bunge in 1918.


Liz

[Boudicca95]

Hi again

Just searched family search and got well over 30,000 hits for O'Connell used as a first or middle name. I guess it was something that some people used to do. I wonder how many other surnames of nationalist heroes were used in the same way at the time. Interesting, as it shows the depth of feeling by members of the family, although O'Connell was not a particularly controversial figure.

Thanks for the tip. Much appreciated.

Liz

[eadaoin]

In one set of cousins of OH's, the names "O'Rahilly" and "De Valera" were given as middle names to children born in 1916 and ~1918 (just after the 1916 Rising in which The O'Rahilly died, so definitely intended as a patriotic gesture)