CATAWBA-WEST-L Archives

From: <>
Subject: Family Names
Date: Fri, 17 Sep 1999 22:38:08 -0700

> These were taken fron the Daily News
> "TURNING PAPER INTO PEOPLE," PART XI, FAMILY
> http://www.ancestry.com/dailynews/09_23_99.htm#4
> This article addresses your ancestry in the context of family.
>
>
> Naming Patterns
>
> Our ancestors often used the following naming pattern when selecting
a
> name for a new child. This explains why certain names are very
common
> in a family line. Watching for these patterns can help in your
> genealogy research.
>
> Naming pattern:
>
> 1st son = father's father
>
> 2nd son = mother's father
>
> 3 rd son = father
>
> 4th son = father's oldest brother
>
> 5th son = father's second oldest brother or mother's eldest brother
>
> 1st daughter = mother's mother
>
> 2nd daughter = father's mother
>
> 3rd daughter = mother
>
> 4th daughter = mother's oldest sister
>
> 5th daughter = mother's second oldest sister or father's oldest
sister
>
> It is also common to use:
> the mother's maiden name as a second name;
> the surname of close friends as a second name;
> give another child exactly the same name as a previous child who had
> died; or
> give a child the name of a relative or friend who had recently died.
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------
--
> ----------
>
> Scottish Naming patterns....
>
> An understanding of naming patterns can be very helpful in tracing
> ones ancestry.
>
>
> Many Scotts families follow the custom of naming their children
after
> the grandparents in the following manner.
>
> First born son named for the paternal grandfather.
>
>
> Second son named for the maternal grandfather.
>
>
> Third son named for the father.
>
>
> First born daughter for the paternal grandmother.
>
>
> Second daughter for the maternal grandmother.
>
>
> Third daughter for the mother.
>
>
> This can cause families to have two children with the same name if
the
> grandparents had the same name. The process also started over if the
> parent remarried, so it is common to find half brothers or sisters
> with the same names. Not all Scotts families followed this pattern,
> but many that did continued it long after leaving Scotland.
>
> Another way families end up with more than one child with the same
> name is through high child mortality. Before modern medicine fewer
> children survived to adulthood. Parents often reused the name of a
> dead child for the next child born.
> _____________________________________________________
> COLONIAL NAMING CUSTOMS
>
> "The trend of History is often reflected in the very names borne
by
> the men and women who played a part in it", according to Donald
Lines
> Jacobus, often considered the father of American genealogy. The
> history of given (first) names in early America offers a glimpse at
> our
> forebears and their customs, as well as clues to their origins.
>
> New England's first settlers bore names of three different types:
> those of English origin, those of Hebrew derivation, and those
> intended
> to have a moral significance. Old English names, connected with the
> Church of England, were not often favored by the Puritans. Puritans
> named their children somewhat differently than other
English-speaking
> settlers, preferring Biblical names. Evidently, some parents shut
> their eyes, opened the Bible, and pointed to a word at random--what
> else could account for a child being named Notwithstanding or Maybe?
> The early Massachusetts Brewster family had two sons, Love and
> Wrestling, and two daughters named Patience and Fear. The names
> Humility, Desire, Hate-evil, and Faint-not also appeared in the
> region.
>
> Other New England onomastic Practices included obscure references
> and names that commemorated an occasion--such as Oceanus Hopkins,
who
> was born on the Mayflower in 1620. Early settlers seemed to favor
> names for their associated moral qualities. Among girls' names,
> which were no doubt intended to incite their bearers to lead godly
> lives, were: Content, Lowly, Mindwell, Obedience, Patience,
Silence,
> Charity, Mercy, Comfort, Delight and Thankful. In many families,
the
> first names of the father and mother were given to the first-born
son
>
> and daughter, respectively.
>
> In the Massachusetts Bay Colony, 53 percent of all females were
> named Mary, Elizabeth, or Sarah. Other popular girls' names were
> Rebecca, Ruth, Anne, Hannah, Deborah, Huldah, Abigail, and Rachel.
> Meanwhile, prevalent boys' names included John, Joseph, Samuel,
> Josiah, Benjamin, Jonathan, and Nathan.
>
> In Virginia, Biblical references were less common. Early
settlers
> often named sons for Teutonic warriors, Frankish knights, and
English
> kings. Favorites included William, Robert, Richard, Edward, George,
> and Charles. Daughters received name of Christian saints and
> traditional English folk names, such as Margaret, Jane, Catherine,
> Frances, and Alice, along with English favorites Mary, Elizabeth,
> Anne, and Sarah. First-born children were named for their
> grandparents, and second-born for their parents.
>
> A popular custom in both Virginia and New England was the use of
> surnames as given names. This occurred mostly with boys, but it was
> not unknown for girls. Some names were also chosen for their
magical
> properties, and astrologers were consulted in attempt to find a
> "fortunate" or "lucky" name.
>
> Among Quakers in Colonial Pennsylvania and Delaware, babies went
> through a ritual called nomination. An infant's name was carefully
> selected by the parents, certified by friends, witnessed by
neighbors,
> and then entered in the register of the meeting. First-born
children
> were named after grandparents, honoring maternal and paternal lines
> evenly, often with an eldest son named after his mother's father and
> an eldest daughter after her father's mother. While this practice
> was not universal among Quaker families, it was common in the
Delaware
> Valley. Many names came from the Bible, with favorites for boys
being
> John, Joseph, Samuel, Thomas, William, and George; and for girls,
> Mary, Elizabeth, Sarah, Anne/Anna/Hannah, and Esther/Hester. Also
> popular among the Quakers was Phebe, which rarely appeared in New
> England or the South. They also favored the names Patience, Grace,
> Mercy, and Chastity. One family's eight children were named
Remember,
> John, Restore, Freedom, Increase, Jacob, Preserve, and Israel.
>
> Naming patterns differed in the "back country" of early America,
> which was heavily populated by Scotch-Irish as well as German,
> Scandinavian, Irish, Scottish, French, and Dutch families. In these
> rural areas, many given names were "Americanized," making it
difficult
> for genealogists to identify a family's ethnic origins. As a
general
> rule, the patterns included a mixture of Biblical, Teutonic, and
> saints' names. Among the most popular given names for boys were:
> John, Robert, Richard, Andrew, Patrick, and David. Celtic names
such
> as Ewan (and variants Ewen and Owen), Barry, and Roy were often
used,
> as were Archibald, Ronald, Alexander, Charles, James, Wallace,
Bruce,
> Percy, Ross, and Clyde. Again, eldest sons were often named after
> their grandfathers, and second or third sons after their fathers--
> similar to patterns found in early tidewater Chesapeake families.
>
> One peculiar naming pattern found among the back-country settlers
> was the one bestowing unusual--sometimes made-up--given names. From
> an early date, these rugged pioneers cultivated a spirit of
onomastic
> individualism, a spirit still found today in this country as parents
> search for a special, perhaps unique, name for their baby. Others
> prefer to select a name from their family tree that has been passed
> along for generations.
> .................................by Myra Vanderpool Gormley
>
> ______________________________________________________
> Colonial Homes, Naming Patterns
>
>
> In 18th & 19th Century Britain families generally tended to name
their
> children in a specific pattern as follows:
> Males
> First-born Son - father's father
>
>
> Second-born Son - mother's father
>
> Third-born Son - father
>
> Fourth-born Son - father's eldest brother
>
> Fifth-born Son - father's 2nd oldest brother or mother's oldest
> brother
>
> Females
> First-born Daughter - mother's mother
>
>
> Second-born Daughter - father's mother
>
> Third-born Daughter - mother
>
> Fourth-born Daughter - mother's eldest sister
>
> Fifth-born Daughter - mother's 2nd oldest sister or father's oldest
> sister
> ____________________________________________________
>
> Surnames & Naming patterns
>
>
> In Scotland - as in the rest of Western Europe - there were four
main
> ways of acquiring a surname:-
>
> Patronymic - taking the father's Christian name e.g. Robertson
>
> Occupation - e.g. Smith (the most common surname of all)
>
> Locality - e.g. Wood
>
> Nickname - e.g. White, Little.
>
> Patronymics - Lowland names such as Wilson, Robertson, Thomson and
> Johnson are among the most common surnames in Scotland. 'Mac' names
> are also patronymic. MacManus - son of Magnus. 'Mc' is just a
> printer's contraction and has no significance as to etymology.
>
> Occupation - Names which are derived from trades and occupations -
> mostly found in towns. The most common of these is Smith (the most
> common surname in Scotland, England and the USA) but other examples
> would be Taylor (tailor) Baxter (baker) and Cooper (barrel maker).
>
> Locality - In Scotland the tendency is for people to be named after
> places (in England the tendency is the opposite). Examples of such
> names are Morton, Lauder, Menzies and Galloway.
>
> Nickname - Names which could refer to colour or size, e.g. White,
> Black, Small, Little. Scottish names in this category include
Campbell
> (meaning 'crooked mouth'). Another example of nickname - this time
> referring to the bearers origins - is Scott.
>
>
>
> Naming patterns
>
> People of all countries tend to use forenames which run in the
family.
> In Scotland families not only use such names but they tend to follow
> naming patterns - the most common of which is:-
>
> 1st son - named after his paternal grandfather
>
> 2nd son - named after his maternal grandfather
>
> 3rd son - named after his father
>
> 1st daughter - named after her maternal grandmother
>
> 2nd daughter - named after her paternal grandmother
>
> 3rd daughter - named after her mother
>
> Although this naming pattern was not always used, it can be a useful
> indication to genealogists. Unfortunately, this pattern is not used
to
> the same extent today.
>
>
>
> Origins of some Scottish surnames
>
> Fraser - Originally De Frisselle, de Freseliere or De Fresel. The
> first recorded bearer of the name was Sir Simon Frasee who held
lands
> in East Lothian. Fortunate marriages enabled the family to acquire
> lands all over Scotland. By such means they acquired Philorth in
> Buchan in 1375 - this became the chief seat of the Frasers. The
family
> was raised to the peerage in the person of the first Lord Lovat. To
> the Gaels the chief of the Frasers is known as MacShimidh - 'son of
> Simon'.
>
> Bruce - A locality name from Normandy - Brix near Cherbourg. The
first
> recorded bearer of the name accompanied William the Conqueror and
the
> second accompanied King David to Scotland to claim the throne. This
> was the family which produced Robert the Bruce and, although the
royal
> line died out in 1314, the name Bruce is today among the hundred
> commonest Scottish surnames.
>
> Robertson - a patronymic name. The first bearer of the name was
> Robert, grandson of Duncan the Fat (Donnchadh Reamhar). The family
> acquired lands in the central Highlands. However, the commonality of
> the name in Scotland can only be explained, not by any connection to
> the original family, but by the large number of people who adopted
the
> name because it was their fathers' forename. In Gaelic the clan
> continues to be called Clann Donnacha - Duncan's children - from
their
> descent from Duncan the Fat.
>
> Stewart - an occupational name. It comes from the office of steward
> which was a position of importance under the Crown. Among
alternative
> spellings of the name are Stuart and Steward. Mary, Queen of Scots
> favoured the spelling Stuart as there is no 'W' in the French
> language. To the Gaels the Stewarts are known as 'the race of Kings
> and Tinkers'.
>
> If you would like to know more about your surname contact
>
>
>
>

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