The traditional way of naming children

[Karytay]

What I like to know is, in the traditional way of naming children is it only the first name of the person they get named after taken or is it all the names of that person the child is been name after? Or does the child get their first name from one person, their second name from another and so on?

Thanks Karen

[ScouseBoy]

Each and every family probably has a different and distinct variation of their own.

[anne_p]

Karytay,
I notice that many of your research names look like they could be Scottish.

There was a traditional pattern in Scotland which ran out around the start of the 20th century but, to answer your question.
In this time period, a child was often given both the first and last name of the person that they were named for.
IE a 1st daughter would be given the full maiden name of her maternal grandmother

[Rosinish]

Hi Karen,

Naming patterns are a good guide although not always "traditional" but usually.....

1st son - paternal g/father
1st dau - maternal g/mother
2nd son - maternal gfather
2nd dau - paternal g/mother

Additional childrens names then move to g g/parents

However, I have 1st daughters with both g/mothers names e.g. Mary Ann

I also have 1st sons/daughters with neither g/parents names

Middle names are a great tool for helping in research

You may also find maiden names used as forenames

If a child dies young a subsequent child can be given the same name

Other scenarios...I have 1 family with 4 children (3 boys) & all the boys have the forename Donald (named after different people) & only 1 had a middle name

My grandmother was named Maggy-Jane (sic) on her bc with 2 sisters named Margaret

If you have a query, post on here as there are plenty of people to help you

These may help...both different naming patterns

http://www.halmyre.abel.co.uk/Family/naming.htm

http://www.genealogy.com/articles/research/35_donna.html

Annie

[Rena]

All the Welsh, English and Scottish lines that I've followed have used the same naming pattern and as they all usually had large families I found that after the first four boys and four girls they then started to give children names of people who had impacted on their lives, for instance one Scottish family eventually had a child whose name I recognised from an earlier census as being the full two given names and one surname of a ship's captain who lived next door to the wife when she was young.  Her father had been a ship's carpenter and I presume the neighbour was highly regarded.

As already mentioned the Scots would include surnames as middle names, as reflected in my grandfather's full name of Andrew Stephenson Dalglish Crum (named after an important relative called Andrew Stephenson Dalglish).

My maternal line includes Germans and they followed the same naming pattern as my British lines, e.g. first son named in favour of his paternal grandfather, first daughter named in favour of maternal grandmother, etc., etc..  This personal family name is the one next to the surname and the first given names are the names of the sponsors, e.g. my gt. grandfather was named in favour of his paternal grandfather Henry/Heinrich, his baptism record shows two sponsors were present who donated their names of Franz and Jacob.  Thus official records show his full name as Franz Jacob Heinrich Flemme, so whereas familysearch website would list "Franz" as the first name, the German census I viewed tended to list people by the family name that people used in every day life.

1st boy named after paternal grandfather / 1st girl named after maternal g/mother
2nd boy named after maternal grandfather / 2nd girl named after paternal g/mother
3rd boy named after its own father / 3rd girl named after its own mother
4th boy named after father's oldest brother / 4th girl named after mother's oldest sister.

If the wife was a second wife, one of her daughter's would be named after the first wife.

[anne_p]

4th boy named after father's oldest brother / 4th girl named after mother's oldest sister.

Rena,
In my opinion...
A 4th son wasn't named for his father's older brother
The father's older brother would be named for HIS paternal grandfather, therefore it stands to reason that a 4th son was actually named for his OWN paternal great grandfather .
Same principle applies to a 4th daughter.
It's also how most of my family names work too

[Karytay]

So I have a man named Robert MacMillan Ross, I do not know if he is the first born or not. On his death notice it has his father's name as James Ross and mother Isabella Ross. Could the mans middle name be his mother's maiden name?


I have no parent names for Agnes van Wyk nee Ross, her second son was named Alexander Ross Daniel van Wyk could these names be her father's names ? Alexander Ross be her father's name and Daniel? ( Alexander Ross Daniel van wyk is the way it is written on his birth certificate.)

Agnes's first born daughter was named Anna Maria van Wyk Could she be name after Agnes's mother? The second daughter was easy since I have Agnes's husbands parents full names. And the second daughter is differently named after her father's mother.

Just had a look, the second daughter only got her father's mother's first name. Her second name 
I have not found were that comes from.

Karen

[Rena]

4th boy named after father's oldest brother / 4th girl named after mother's oldest sister.

Rena,
In my opinion...
A 4th son wasn't named for his father's older brother
The father's older brother would be named for HIS paternal grandfather, therefore it stands to reason that a 4th son was actually named for his OWN paternal great grandfather .
Same principle applies to a 4th daughter.
It's also how most of my family names work too

Precisely, and that explains the "spares"?  Although this doesn't explain why I found three siblings who obviously survived to adulthood named "John" in one of my lines

[josey]

Can you give dates for these people, Karen? Do you have any census references?