September 29, 2023
Parents in modern times often seek to use creativity and imagination to give their children unique and special names. That wasn’t the case a few generations ago. While parents have always given serious thought to the names they gave their children, in earlier eras those names often followed specific patterns.
In Colonial America, for example, a standard naming pattern was often used. This pattern varied somewhat according to the original country of origin of the parents’ families. Since many early settlers in America were of English descent, the following pattern was common.
First son – named after the father’s father
First daughter – named after the mother’s mother
Second son – named after the mother’s father
Second daughter – named after the father’s mother
Third son – named after the father
Third daughter – named after the mother
Fourth son – named after the father’s eldest brother
Fourth daughter – named after the mother’s eldest sister
When researching Colonial American families, it’s useful to keep this pattern in mind. It can be a helpful clue to help determine earlier generations. However, it’s important to remember that not all families followed this pattern.
Variations occurred when parents wanted to honor a wealthy relative, for example, in hopes of receiving a large inheritance. Sometimes there were hard feelings among family members, and the pattern omitted a particularly ornery grandparent.
In later eras, parents sometimes tweaked the traditional pattern to fit their own ideas. For example, my third great grandparents used the traditional naming pattern, but they gave each child two names. In their case, the first son was named after both of his grandfathers. His first name was his paternal grandfather’s, and his middle name was his maternal grandfather’s. The parents followed the same pattern by giving their first daughter her maternal grandmother’s name as a first name and her paternal grandmother’s name as a middle name.
It’s sometimes difficult to determine whether a naming pattern tradition is being followed. In the early c
colonial period, many families used the same few names – generation after generation. For example, in early New England, fifty percent of all girls were given one of three names: Sarah, Elizabeth, or Mary. If Mary shows up in several generations, it may merely be because nearly everyone had a daughter named Mary, not because of a naming pattern.
Don’t assume that a naming pattern is an accurate way to determine the given names of a person’s ancestors. A naming pattern can point you towards specific names, but more research must be done to verify its validity.
Carol Stetser
Researcher