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I know lots of women who were named after their mothers, or sometimes, their fathers. I'm Jewish, and in our tradition (Ashkenazi/Eastern European), it's considered bad luck to name for a living person, so it's not the custom to be named for a parent. Deceased grandparents or great aunts or uncles is common though.
I'm of Dutch descent, and moreso in the past, it was common to name the first girl child after the maternal grandmother, then the second girl after the paternal grandmother, and similar with the boy names.
My mother-in-law died when I was pregnant for her first granddaughter, and so my daughter is named for the grandmother she never knew. When I told a Jewish friend this, she said, "How Jewish of you!" I said, "No, it's how DUTCH of me!"
Different cultures often have naming traditions. People who do geneaology pick up the patterns.
Last edited by Oldhag1; 03-13-2015 at 10:05 AM..
Reason: Removed icon
There was an interesting discussion in the genealogy forum about this topic. Some cultures have very specific naming conventions. My own family followed tradition until very recently. In my husband's family, the father's first name was often passed down as the first son's middle name. In my maternal line, mother's names followed a slightly different sequence. My mother's middle name is her grandmother's first name, and I received the same grandmother's middle name.
Regarding texdav's post above, both my MIL and I dropped our middle names legally and adopted our maiden names as middle names upon marriage. I passed my surname along to my youngest son, too, as a tribute to my father.
Tell me about that one. My husband's great-grandfather was Phillip. He named his first son Phillip (no middle name). Son Phillip grew up and named his son Phillip. Well, Grandma passed away and Phillip the First remarried. He and his second wife had a son together. Guess what they named this child? PHILLIP! Again, no middle name.
Problem doing this genealogy? Grandson Phillip and Son Phillip from second marriage Phillp were born only 6 months apart. More complications? Son George also named his son Phllip too.
Any idea how difficult all this genealogy was trying to sort out all these Phllips (some only months or few years apart) going back using Census Records?
Please, please, from a genealogist. If you are going to go with this custom, at least give your kids a MIDDLE NAME also.
The junior thing gets a bit complicated particularly with women since they don't have any type of numering system to say if they are first, second, third, etc.
My kids all have family names. My husband and I liked this tradition. No one is a junior or named after my husband or myself. I prefer traditional names to the more recent made up names and unusual spellings.
Tell me about that one. My husband's great-grandfather was Phillip. He named his first son Phillip (no middle name). Son Phillip grew up and named his son Phillip. Well, Grandma passed away and Phillip the First remarried. He and his second wife had a son together. Guess what they named this child? PHILLIP! Again, no middle name.
Problem doing this genealogy? Grandson Phillip and Son Phillip from second marriage Phillp were born only 6 months apart. More complications? Son George also named his son Phllip too.
Any idea how difficult all this genealogy was trying to sort out all these Phllips (some only months or few years apart) going back using Census Records?
Please, please, from a genealogist. If you are going to go with this custom, at least give your kids a MIDDLE NAME also.
That's messy. I know someone who was named Tony (Anthony) after his father. His parents then divorced when he was a teenager. His father remarried the mother's replacement, and when Tony was 20, his Dad's new wife had a baby boy...whom they named Tony.
This did not sit well with the first Tony.
These stories make me wonder how many times something as seemingly simple as naming a child have caused rifts in family relationshipos.
My father shares a first name with his father, but my grandfather was adamant that his son not be a junior and have a different middle name. He wanted his kid to have his own identity.
I'm of Dutch descent, and moreso in the past, it was common to name the first girl child after the maternal grandmother, then the second girl after the paternal grandmother, and similar with the boy names.
My mother-in-law died when I was pregnant for her first granddaughter, and so my daughter is named for the grandmother she never knew. When I told a Jewish friend this, she said, "How Jewish of you!" I said, "No, it's how DUTCH of me!"
Different cultures often have naming traditions. People who do geneaology pick up the patterns.
My Dutch side = my mother was named after her maternal grandmother, and later stuck me with their middle name which I hated. Never knew it was a Dutch tradition.
As for the Jewish tradition- it looks like both you and your friend were accurate, but Jewish tradition is less about how the person was related than honoring the person.
My Dutch side = my mother was named after her maternal grandmother, and later stuck me with their middle name which I hated. Never knew it was a Dutch tradition.
As for the Jewish tradition- it looks like both you and your friend were accurate, but Jewish tradition is less about how the person was related than honoring the person.
Interesting.
The Dutch would also name a child after a previous child who had died. My grandmother's sister, Maria, died at the age of six from diphtheria. The next child born into the family was a boy, so I had a great-uncle named Marinus.
Vincent Van Gogh grew up visiting a grave every Sunday behind the church where his father was the minister. The name on the grave was the same as his own--his brother Vincent had died at the age of three before the second, more famous, Vincent was born. And you wonder why the guy had mental problems.
Yes, to clarify, the Jewish tradition is not specifically about naming for a grandparent, it's just that is frequently the closest deceased relative. And the new parents often want to honor someone they shared a special relationship with. My son is named for my grandmother and I have shared many things about her with him, even though he never got to meet her.
When there is a sibling who dies young, that is a special case - it can be too painful for someone who lost a sibling at an early age to call their own child that, and sometimes their own parents aren't ready to have another child with that name. That's not to say that it's not ok, if someone wanted to, it's a personal choice. At least for the people I know in those circumstances, it's just too painful. But it's possible that their kids could end up naming one of their own kids for the aunt or uncle they never got to know.
Yes, to clarify, the Jewish tradition is not specifically about naming for a grandparent, it's just that is frequently the closest deceased relative. And the new parents often want to honor someone they shared a special relationship with. My son is named for my grandmother and I have shared many things about her with him, even though he never got to meet her.
When there is a sibling who dies young, that is a special case - it can be too painful for someone who lost a sibling at an early age to call their own child that, and sometimes their own parents aren't ready to have another child with that name. That's not to say that it's not ok, if someone wanted to, it's a personal choice. At least for the people I know in those circumstances, it's just too painful. But it's possible that their kids could end up naming one of their own kids for the aunt or uncle they never got to know.
I think back in the day when naming the next baby after a child who had died, it was, unfortunately, all too common to lose a child.
Generally speaking, no, women are not "juniors" or "the III" like men. My dad is a "the III" and the buck stopped there since he only had daughters. However, my sister's son has our dad's first name now.
My aunt was named after her mother, but given a nickname as a baby that stuck - she is never called by her actual first name. Well, when she worked she did because the nickname would have been wholly inappropriate in a work environment. (don't ask)
We opted not to give our kids family names - although there was brief discussion of having our son be a "junior" - but my husband said no in the end.
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