Unusual middle names. Any ideas of why?

[Heritagefound]

Hello

I am researching some ancestors circ 1750-1880. What is unusual is that many of them have strange 3rd names. For example Louise Maria Raven Rowe. We also have 3rd names for others such as Blowes, Hicks, Simpson, etc. These sorts of names are over 3 generations and appear to have no family connection. The family were living in the Colchester, Essex region. Their BMD are recorded in non Congregational church records, although no mention of their church, perhaps Quakers as the word Society is mentioned on the first page.

Was this a fashion in central Essex? Or a characteristic of Quakers, or other ethnicity?

Any ideas would be very welcome.
Thank you for reading.

[Ruskie]

Welcome to rootschat Heritagefound. 

Surnames as middle names happen everywhere. I am not sure you can glean anything from it regarding denomination or geography.  In my research I have observed it is particularly common in the NE and Scotland.

Sometimes the surname can be passed down from an earlier generation which you may not be aware of as yet, a maternal surname for example, sometimes it could be a way for a family to honour employers, neighbours or friends or someone of esteem in the community.

I have told this story many times, but as you are new, I will repeat it.  The father one of the families I was researching wrote a diary and in it he detailed how he chose the middle names for his children including bestowing the surname of “someone who was kind to his wife” on one of his children. In each case he requested that those surnames be passed down the generations. (They weren’t.  )

If you haven’t already done so, it might be worth looking in the censuses for people with these surnames living near or working in the same trades as your ancestors. You may find a connection with some of the more unusual surnames - there may be too many results for the common names.

[trish1120]

One of my Ancestors named her Daug Elizabeth Louttid Leggett. Louttid was her Sisters married name.
So as explained there may be many reasons for it.

[Ruskie]

Another family I was researching gave each child ,the same middle name, and there were about ten of them - it was an easy one though .... it was the mother’s maiden surname. 

[Treetotal]

Welcome to Rootschat...In my line we have discovered that on occasions, the Godparents names were used as middle names.
In another line, the middle name Miller appears over five generations.
Carol

[guest189040]

They come in very handy for confirming and finding family members in our cases the surnames of Mother’s maiden names or even maternal Grandparents.

My own Great Great Grandfather had Drummer as his middle name.

A William Osbaldeston Harwood a 3xGreat Uncle of my Wife’s was given the surname of his Mother Alice Osbaldeston who happened to be a Gateway ancestor.

Finding John Raistrick Collins helped confirm that Mary Raistrick was his Mother.

So surnames as middle names do come in handy.

Bear a thought for Quickfall Gladwin, he was only given his Morther’s surname Quickfall as his forename.

[BumbleB]

My lot, from Yorkshire, have used surnames as sole forenames over the years.  Fairbank, Jennings, Wadsworth, usually the surnames of in-laws.  Plus those, of course, who have incorporated surnames as middle names for their children, although I'm still at a loss to trace the origin of Owen as a middle name for my father and his uncle.

[Dundee]

For example Louise Maria Raven Rowe. We also have 3rd names for others such as Blowes, Hicks, Simpson, etc.

Wasn't Louisa's great grandmother named Martha SIMPSON?

Debra 

[gaffy]

It doesn't always have to be a relative, in the context of Northern Ireland, I have encountered 'Carson' given as a middle name in several instances (from Edward Carson), also in the military context, middle names like 'Kitchener' and 'Haig'.