December 12, 2025
In earlier eras, parents often used naming patterns to choose names for their children. These patterns varied according to location, religion and era. Now, genealogists use these naming patterns to figure out relationships and cultural origins.
There are several naming patterns, but some of the most common include using the wife’s maiden name as a first name or Biblical names used by the Quakers and the Puritans. Another type of naming pattern used the paternal grandfather’s name for the first son and the maternal grandmother’s name for the first daughter. The second son was named after the maternal grandfather and the second daughter after the paternal grandmother. Succeeding children were often named after the parents or after the parents’ siblings.
New genealogists tend to over emphasize the prevalence of naming patterns. Even in times and places where naming patterns were usual, not everyone used them. If a family used common names such as John, James, Mary and Elizabeth, it can be difficult to know whether it’s a naming pattern or just the fact that everyone used these same names. This can be true even if the same common names were used for several generations.
Some families, however, used more unusual names. These names can help a researcher trace relationships, especially when records are scarce.
In my own family, my 6th great grandparents, Jonathan and Jemima Terry, named their eldest son Parshall because that was Jemima’s maiden name. Parshall was born in 1734, but his name is still being used by his descendants today. Since it is an unusual name, finding that name on a family tree usually means that I’ve discovered a new cousin.
Years ago, I was tracing the siblings of my third great grandfather Timothy Terry. The family lived in Ontario, Canada, but one brother, William, disappeared from Canadian records when he was approximately fifty years old. I could find no record of his death, and his wife reported herself as married in subsequent Canadian censuses.
Eventually, I stumbled on an old message board post which mentioned that William Terry had deserted his family in Canada. He’d then moved to Illinois where he married and died in the mid-1850s. Illinois death records listed a William Terry who died in 1856. The index indicated that William had left a will.
I wasn’t sure if this man was my ancestor’s brother, but I sent for the will anyway. When I read it, I knew I’d found my ancestor’s long-lost brother. William Terry gave specific instructions for his burial. He requested that he be buried next to his infant son, Parshall Terry.
There are lots of Terry’s in the United States, but only descendants of the original Parshall Terry born in 1734 use his name. Naming patterns helped me solve a longstanding genealogical question.
Carol Stetser
Researcher
Larimer County Genealogical Society