Was it typical to take a famous relative’s surname as a middle name?

[Catservant]

My friend and I recently discovered we have a common ancestor, my 6 times great grandfather John Chellew (born in 1724 in Ludgvan, Cornwall).
We discovered this because she was telling me that she has a famous ancestor Thomas Holloway (born in Plymouth in 1800) who invented various miracle ointments and had, for example The Royal Holloway College named after him. I said, “ Well that’s funny because I have an ancestor called Thomas Holloway Blake (born 1858 in Plymouth). That Thomas Holloway Blake also had a cousin of the exact same name. I then traced back to the common ancestor. My Thomas was descended from John Chellew’s son Henry and her Thomas was descended from his daughter Mary Chellew.
So were my Thomas’s named ‘Holloway’ in homage to their famous ancestor? Would that have been typical for the time? Thanks.
It’s quite amazing because I’d been wondering why my ancestor had such an unusual middle name, and all the while, my friend and colleague who I sit next to and work with, in Stockport (so far from Devon and Cornwall) held the possible clues to the answer and is my cousin (kind of!)

[Pheno]

Yes very common and didn't have to be someone in the public eye at the time.  Lots of uncommon middle names originate from further up the tree, often maiden surnames of women who married into the family.

It often helps to identify an ancestor.

Pheno

[Catservant]

Thanks Pheno.

[Lalzovi]

I've found the same thing in my tree with non blood relations too. Distant in-laws that they must have been proud of. Sometimes I believe the middle name referred to the godparents.

[Erato]

It's common to use surnames in my family right up to this day.  And, aside from numerous Washingtons, Jeffersons and Franklins, there were some who took names from lesser public figures - a presidential candidate, a prominent evangelist, a postmaster.

[Josephine]

Yes, definitely.

In some of the families in my extended tree, there are a number of sons who were named after brothers-in-law (first and last names -- sometimes middle names, too) who weren't famous but must have been well-liked or loved.

I've also seen a few children who were named for relatives with money (again, first and last names). Although it was probably done as a sign of respect or affection, it also seems to have improved those children's chances of being left some money upon the relative's death.

Regards,
Josephine

[ThrelfallYorky]

I've spent years trying to find out why ( and for whom) the middle name "Whiteley" popped up in my Isherwoods. Can't find one married in, nor as an ancestor, but after they'd started using it, it kept popping up. Can't find a famous one that "fits", either....
Very often wives' maiden names were used as middle names, or even as first names, especially if there were few males of that name to carry it onward "properly".

[Erato]

I wish you Threlfalls would be done with it and change your name 'Treefall.'  I just cannot see it  without reading 'treefall' - a result having spent time working on treefall gaps, I guess.

[ThrelfallYorky]

Sorry. I've had: "Triffal, Trelfoe, Treffow, Threlfoe, Trelfal(l), Treefald, Threffall, and many other distortions pressed upon me over the years, but the best of all was "Trifle"! Scrummy!
TY