Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My sister named her first child Sarah because as far back as we can go, many of the women were named Sarah. Actually, it's supposed to be Sarah ANN, but that's okay.
There are no boys anywhere so the James William that goes directly back to 1763 on our paternal side is lost.
It was a nice tradition back in the day. Of course we don't need to name our kids that way now that such good records and kept, but I still like the tradition. Also, when you have the first name or even the middle name of an ancestor, it makes you interested in that person and your family history.
My maternal uncle carried an old family surname as his middle name even though the actual family connection and significance was not remembered. He was the last to carry that name. Sometime later I discovered where the name came from...an old French Huguenot family back in the 1600s.
We weren't as aware of genealogy when choosing names. It so happens each set of names contains one ancestor's name by pure coincidence. None of the names is particularly unique or unusual. If I had a do-over I would have considered more ancestor names or even surnames. When the time comes maybe we can encourage the next generation to take a look at what's been found.
My sister named her first child Sarah because as far back as we can go, many of the women were named Sarah. Actually, it's supposed to be Sarah ANN, but that's okay.
There are no boys anywhere so the James William that goes directly back to 1763 on our paternal side is lost.
It was a nice tradition back in the day. Of course we don't need to name our kids that way now that such good records and kept, but I still like the tradition. Also, when you have the first name or even the middle name of an ancestor, it makes you interested in that person and your family history.
My wife's mom was called Sara and a cousin and another girl were named after her out of respect I think because she died young and most everyone loved her it seems. I never met her as she passed away when my wife was only 9 years old. Everyone thought that is how she spelled the name. A couple years ago my wife was given her moms Birth certificate and Social Security Card. The spelling was Sarah on both documents. I guess they thought since Sarah was Mexican and many Mexicans spell it Sara that was how it was spelled.
My uncle was named David. he passed away when he was 59. He was named after David Crockett or as you may know of him "Davy Crockett King of the wild Frontier". Up until a year ago everyone had been told how we were descendants of his. For years the stories had been told. No one ever verified this information they just continued to pass it down.
I was able to set the record strait. It turns out that Davy had a brother that passed away. His kids were raised by Davy and his wife as their own kids. Not sure how that works out. I prefer a direct line, as in we are direct descendants of Davy Crockett's brother. LOL
Seems like there's an exploratory trend the past several years with people naming kids less traditional first names, of course the traditional names are still going strong too. Or sometimes made up names, like a blend of two or more names. Or surnames that may or may not be in the family tree. I can't help but wonder what cool names people who aren't into genealogy might find if they checked out their own family tree. Have you or other family members used the names you've found in the family tree for the newest generations? Or would you have, maybe names you like but didn't have a chance to use?
I can't image being some of the kids today going into a professional field with some of the crazy names out there. My daughter is going to have a daughter the end of the month, the name she chose is fine for a child but she will out grow it. It's also very similar to her BF's daughters name which I can see causing confusion. No matter what I say she won't consider changing the name. My daughters nana suggested she name her daughter Tanya after her daughter that passed at 40 12 years ago but my daughter won't consider using it as a middle name which I'd like to see her do. Tanya never had kids which is a huge reason why I made her Godmother, I think it would be really nice if my daughter honored her by using it as the middle name. Her nana has been very sick the last few years, I think it would really warm her heart if I can get my daughter to change her mind.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kobber
I knew nothing much about my ancestors when my daughter was born 38 years ago. We named her Anna (which was my choice - a name I had always wanted to call a daughter since childhood).
Turns out our family tree is chock-full of females named Hannah and Susanna/h. So there is a reference to family names, even if unintentional.
When my daughter and SIL had their son they looked through their family trees to see if there was a prominent name that they liked. They ended up giving him the middle name William. Almost all my grandfathers on my father's paternal line had William in their name (mostly first name), going back to the 1600s - and it was also very prominent in SIL's family tree.
William is used a lot in my son's grandpa's mothers line. Her grandfather was William Spencer which is my son's 1st and middle name; it's also his "fathers" name. In doing his side of the tree I'm seeing a lot of William's kids and grand kids used both William and Spencer as names but so far my son and his "father" are the only William Spencers. WS's middle name of Robert has gotten used too
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nov3
My DIL blessed the grand kids with her side of the families maternal grandmothers' name...."violet" , and Her one cousin "layne". Both as Middle names.
It was a slap in the face that she disassociated using My sons' side of the family names. I love my grand daughters dearly...so I just keep in mind...a rose by any other name is still as sweet.
Her remark was , they have his last name. In which I said...til they marry ...so really it matters little now....
Luckily my family tree has carried on some of the names...John and Lee being used alot.
For the ladies , elizabeth and Anna are the two used most often.
I'm so sorry. I'm surprised your son didn't have a say in it. It's my biggest fear that my son will marry a woman that doesn't get along with me. He's had a few girl friends that didn't like me because they were jealous of our relationship.
I've found maybe two "Matthew" ancestors in all of my extensive family tree, I was named for religious reasons and not family.
Allen was my father's middle name and he passed it on. I now can presume he was likely given the middle name Allen due to one of two Allen ancestral lines only a couple generations back or so. One of them is one step closer and more likely the source. So incidentally I was given a family middle name that likely goes back quite a ways
It turns out that Allen ancestry is quite interesting, leading to a Charles Allen that was nearly hung to death by "Bloody Bill" Cunningham in South Carolina during the American Revolution protecting someone who was hiding, went on to serve in the war and became a wealthy land owner in the region. It leads back to Bacon ancestry in Virginia that is believe to be somehow related to Nathaniel Bacon the Rebel.
I have one child left who I hope will have children. Of the 5 grandchildren I already have, one family went with traditional names out of nowhere. The other 3 are named after some relatives, but not all.
I will suggest to him (one time, and then shut up about it) that there are a hundred good old names in the family tree that I would be nice to carry on.
When I researched the ancestry, it was so helpful that the same few names were used over and over down the generations.
When I researched the ancestry, it was so helpful that the same few names were used over and over down the generations.
Well, that depends on the name!
When everyone is named William or Thomas or Mary or Sara it can get confusing.
Unusual names can be helpful, though.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I would have considered more ancestor names or even surnames. When the time comes maybe we can encourage the next generation to take a look at what's been found. 
