Mothers maiden name as surname.

[nelwild]

Hello.

Ive noticed that my 5xgreat grandfather Twyman Lawson was given his mothers maiden name as a first name,his parents being Edward Lawson and Ann Twyman.
Also,further back,Anns father was Hammond Twyman,the son of Henry Twyman and Ann Hammond.
I was just wondering if theres any significance in this practice of using a mothers maiden name as a first name.
Nel.

[farmeroman]

This is (or was) a common tradition on one side of my family (my mother's), but unheard of on the other side. It appears to have ended with my mother, who's middle name was Jenkinson as was her father's.

It's also very common on one side of my daughter-in-law's family (in two cases both Turner & Blissett and another where Taylor & Blissett were used as second and third middle names), with one member giving ten out of their eleven children the middle name Blissett. Whey they didn't do it with their second is more baffling to me than why they did with the other ten.

My wife has no examples in her tree.

Personally I don't think there's any significance behind it other than a family tradition which has stuck.

I've also seen quite a few cases where the parents weren't married so the child was given the father's name as a middle name, which was usually adopted as their surname later in life, whether the couple married or not. In my experience if it's an isolated case this will often be the reason.

A quick Google came up with plenty of hits along these lines, such as: https://digupyourancestors.com/2021/10/29/five-reasons-why-ancestors-used-surnames-as-middle-names/

[KGarrad]

Some time ago, my family (Garrad) had many connections with the Baker family.
So, I have a Baker Garrad in my tree as well as a Garrad Baker!

[coombs]

Quite common, as I have found some instances in my Suffolk lot such as a Newman Jacques, whose mother was a Newman by birth. I also have a Mary Newman Smith born c1760 who wed in Foulness, Essex, in 1780. Not found who her parents were, maybe she was illegitimate and her likely father was a Newman or it was a family name, or even the name of a local doctor/friend/aristocrat etc.

I have a William Warden Walder in my tree, and his middle name is after the local squire, Warden Sergison/Sarginson.

[nelwild]

Thanks for the replies.
I just wondered if there were any particular social groups who might have done this,maybe to show links between certain families.

Nel.

[Viktoria]

I wish I had known my Great Great Grandmother’s maiden name as I like it ,
Cordley,I would have used it as one of my son’s names but had not got that far back when they were born.
Viktoria.

[Top-of-the-hill]

  I have never found any instances of this in my family, but my step-father, a native of South Shields, had a middle name which looked like a surname. In fact it didn't appear anywhere in his immediate ancestors, so we assume it was from a friend or benefactor.

[Jeuel]

All my ancestors were working class.  There aren't many instances in my tree, but my great x 3 grandfather Emmets Matthews first name was his gt grandmother's maiden name. 

[Greenvale]

In my wife's ancestors there is a Hannah Bott (1826 - 71) who married Henry Taylor (1822 -78). Their daughter was named Mary Bott Taylor (1849 -?) she married a William Kinsey (1856 -1859) and their son was named William Bott Kinsey (1883 - 1962). However their other son Albert (1877- 1962) did not have the Bott middle name despite being the elder son but their eldest daughter Mary Elizabeth Bott Kinsey (1902 -1925) did. It seems the practice of including the Bott name ceased after her young death and having no children.