Christian name in parish register different to that used by same person

[Munro84]

So I have two examples in my family tree where the christian name in the parish register is completely different to the name used by the same person throughout their life.

The first is my 3rd great-grandad whose parish baptism is recorded in the year 1812 in the parish of Farr, Sutherland and his name is given as Mackay Munro. I have proved beyond doubt that he went by the name of John Munro from quite early on - even rent records from the 1830's show him as John Munro, as does the 1851, 1861 and 1871 census records and his marriage record of 1856. It is confirmed that his first name was actually Mackay on both his wife's and eldest daughter's death certificates which show that their husband and father respectively was Mackay John Munro. Mackay was his mother's maiden name so it is obvious where the name came from

The second is one of my 3rd great-grandad's brothers whose baptism is recorded in the year 1806 in the parish of Farr, Sutherland and his name as Honyman Munro. He was named after William Honeyman, Lord Armadale who owned the estate that his parents lived on. As such Honyman Munro went by the name of William Honeyman Munro or even William Munro. This again has been proved beyond doubt.

So given that I have two proven examples of the first name in the parish register entry being different to that used during their lifetimes, it brings me to another dilemma that I was hoping for some thoughts from other users here:

The father of the above two people (Mackay and Honyman Munro) was Alexander Munro. This Alexander Munro is first found on record in the parish of Durness at the baptism of his first child and eldest son, James Munro, in 1791. It seems that this James died young as the next child and son to be born was also called James, in 1796, in the parish of Farr. So James was clearly an important name for them to use for the eldest child and son, and I am sure all of you are aware of the Scottish traditional naming system of naming the eldest son after the paternal grandfather.

So Alexander Munro is first found on record in 1791 in the village of Ceanabeinne, parish of Durness at the baptism of his eldest son James. Now there is no parish baptism record in Durness for an Alexander Munro in the right time period, but there is a parish baptism record in Durness for a Donald Munro in 1764 who was the son of a James Munro in Saingo which is just down the road from Ceannabeinne and also in the parish of Durness. Now, would it be possible that this Donald Munro was in fact Alexander, who in turn named his first two sons James Munro (1791/1796) after his own father James, and who also named his third son Donald Munro b.1802.

Also, of Alexander's seven sons, non of them were named Alexander when it was usual for one son to have the father's name.

I know its a long shot and I would really need some definitive evidence of the name change as given for the two other examples in the family given above, but could it be possible ?

Although I suppose Mackay and Honyman would not have been the best of first names to have been known by.

[djct59]

Okay.

You have established that your ancestor is Alexander Munro, carpenter in Ceannabeinne, married to Barbrara MacKay - is that right?

If so then you can establish (1) that he was not married within the parish of Durness, and (2) that he has no patronymic in the parish records. Therefore he may well not have been born in the parish, and simply moved a few miles west back into Farr.

So far as Donald Munro (b.1764) is concerned, there's no evidence of him marrying or fathering children in the parish of Durness, but given that Munro is not an uncommon name in the area, it would be a bit of a leap IMO to propose that he moves to Farr, marries, moves to Ceannabeinne, has a child born there then returns to Farr.

Incidentally, "MacKay" as a first name is not unknown in Durness. There are eight burials in Balnakeil bearing that first name, the last being of a man born in 1927. Naming a child after a landlord/employer is also not wholly exceptional.

[Munro84]

Okay.

You have established that your ancestor is Alexander Munro, carpenter in Ceannabeinne, married to Barbrara MacKay - is that right?

If so then you can establish (1) that he was not married within the parish of Durness, and (2) that he has no patronymic in the parish records. Therefore he may well not have been born in the parish, and simply moved a few miles west back into Farr.

So far as Donald Munro (b.1764) is concerned, there's no evidence of him marrying or fathering children in the parish of Durness, but given that Munro is not an uncommon name in the area, it would be a bit of a leap IMO to propose that he moves to Farr, marries, moves to Ceannabeinne, has a child born there then returns to Farr.

Incidentally, "MacKay" as a first name is not unknown in Durness. There are eight burials in Balnakeil bearing that first name, the last being of a man born in 1927. Naming a child after a landlord/employer is also not wholly exceptional.

Now, hang on a minute. (1) Just because his marriage is not recorded in the Durness OPR does not prove that he was not married in the parish. (2) Most entries in the Durness parish register do not have a Gaelic patronymic. As such I am not proposing that the said Donald Munro moved to Farr, move back to Ceanabeinne, and then back to Farr. But I appreciate your comments, any advice can be useful

[djct59]

Now, hang on a minute. (1) Just because his marriage is not recorded in the Durness OPR does not prove that he was not married in the parish.

Correct, but it does make a regular marriage within the parish less likely. The other evidence in the records shows that the carpenters working in the parish were more often than not "incomers" rather than local men. What we can definitely establish is that there is no record of his marriage in the Durness register.

(2) Most entries in the Durness parish register do not have a Gaelic patronymic.

Also correct. the absence of a patronymic makes it far harder (often impossible) to determine any issue of ancestry.

"As such I am not proposing that the said Donald Munro moved to Farr, move back to Ceanabeinne, and then back to Farr. But I appreciate your comments, any advice can be useful."

When considering old records and where surnames are common within the locality, it is often dangerous to make too many leaps in logic. My considered view is that there is no proveable link between Donald son of James (b. Saingo 1764) and your family. I also think it more plausible that Alexander came from Farr, but accept that the parish records neither confirm nor refute this.

[Munro84]

Now, hang on a minute. (1) Just because his marriage is not recorded in the Durness OPR does not prove that he was not married in the parish.

Correct, but it does make a regular marriage within the parish less likely. The other evidence in the records shows that the carpenters working in the parish were more often than not "incomers" rather than local men. What we can definitely establish is that there is no record of his marriage in the Durness register.

(2) Most entries in the Durness parish register do not have a Gaelic patronymic.

Also correct. the absence of a patronymic makes it far harder (often impossible) to determine any issue of ancestry.

"As such I am not proposing that the said Donald Munro moved to Farr, move back to Ceanabeinne, and then back to Farr. But I appreciate your comments, any advice can be useful."

When considering old records and where surnames are common within the locality, it is often dangerous to make too many leaps in logic. My considered view is that there is no proveable link between Donald son of James (b. Saingo 1764) and your family. I also think it more plausible that Alexander came from Farr, but accept that the parish records neither confirm nor refute this.

Indeed, and as such having reviewed the evidence I have decided to ditch the possible Donald Munro lead. Cheers. Mike .