NAMING TRENDS
Naming children runs in trends. This is evident while perusing census records or just being in a classroom. Maybe even in the office or in the shop where you work.
RECYCLED NAMES
There was once the reusing of a name after a child with that name died. I first encountered this on my Cleveland line, an offshoot of my paternal grandmother's Cunningham line. Joanna Cleveland, daughter of Moses and Ann Winn Cleveland, was born Sept. 9, 1661 and died Dec. 3, 1667. Three sons were born after her and then another daughter who was named Joanna, born April 5, 1670 and died May 21, 1690. Therefore, should you find more than one child with the same name, don't assume it's a duplication until you've checked birth, baptismal and death records.
BIBLICAL NAMES
These names are timeless. They can be found in every generation; however, their prevalance wanes from what it was in the 17th and subsequent centuries up to about the middle 20th century. When pondering on these names, what comes to mind? Mary, Hannah, Sarah, John, Daniel, Samuel, Joshua? The Bible has many unique names that aren't being used but could be. Our forefathers and mothers dug deep in the Biblical well for names like Abijah, Cyrus, Drusilla, Ephraim, Ezekial, Delilah, Hiram, Jerusha, Nimrod and Obadiah. On several branches of my family tree those more common Biblical names first mentioned, except for Hannah, are present. But also on my family tree is Elizabeth, Delilah, Deborah, Martha, Abigail, Susanna, Miriam, Tabitha and Joanna. These are beautiful names but little used. There are males on my family tree with the names Jacob, Enoch, Cornelius, Abraham, Isaac, James, Zachariah, Joel, Levi, Thaddeus, Hosea, Mordicai, Seth, Moses, Joseph, Aaron, Josiah, Ezra, Philip, and Benjamin. Seth shined bright several years ago but waned, as did Aaron and Jacob. Joshua was strong several years ago, along with Caleb, but they waned also. A run on Biblical names in a family used to common. Such a run will show up in census records as well as the old family Bible. For example, on my maternal Bible line (but not my direct line), six of Isaac and Elizabeth 'Betsy' Harmon Bible's nine children have Biblical names: Jacob, Joel, Levi, John, James and Mary. Among Isaac Bibles full siblings were Jacob, Abraham and Sarah. Among his half-siblings were John, Elizabeth, Mary and Adam. Isaac and Betsy Bible's son Jacob's seven children all bear Biblical names: Elizabeth, Susannah, John, Ruth, Mary, James and Isaac. Two of many sites with Biblical names are
http://www.babycenter.com/0_baby-names-from-the-bible_10309862.bc and http://www.ballina.net/babynames/ or you could just get your Bible out. If it's like mine, there will be a listing of proper names in the back with the concordance and other helps.
FLOWERS AND JEWELS
In the 1890's the trend for girl names were jewel and flower names. The most popular jewels were Ruby, Opal and Pearl. The popular flowers were Rose, Lillie and Daisy. There are two Lillie's on my family tree as well as a Magnolia, Ruby and Pearl. I've seen Ivy, for a girl, on a census I once was perusing. The late mother of a cousin's friend was named Fern. See links at the end to find these names or go to google to search for more information.
VIRTUES
In America's colonial days a child would be given a virtue for a name in the hope the meaning of the name would influence the growing child. This trend was started by the Puritans in the 17th century. On the earliest possible records we could find to peruse, we may find girls with names like Patience, Temperance, Felicity, Prudence, Clemency, Charity, Amity, and three that are on my family tree- Deliverance, Thankful and Unity. Boys weren't exempt from a virtuous name. You may find Clement, Clemente, Christian, Earnest, Justus, Constant, Noble or Reason. Some can be for either boy or girl such as Agape, Deliverance, Fidelity, Honor, Merit, Obedience or Sincere. On my paternal Cleveland line, though not in my direct line, there is a young man named Deliverance Cleveland, named after his mother who had the same name. A list for this type of name for boys is a skimpy list indeed.
At http://www.namenerds.com/uucn/virtue.html is a long list, gender not noted, of possible virtue names to consider such as Adore, Aspire, Bonny, Comfort, Constance, Harmony, Loyal, Mirth, Radiance, Rebel, Serendipity, Solace and Valor, to name a handful. On the few sites I've visited to research virtuous names, there is one I haven't seen, if it even can be considered such a name. In John Wayne's 'The Comancheros', Stuart Whitman played a character named Paul Regret. While Regret was a surname, it was given as first name to the Scofield baby born after an Indian Raid on a Texas Ranger outpost. Another name that could possibly be a virtue name is the name of Clint Eastwood's character in 'Rawhide'- Rowdy.
NAMESAKES
Time was names were handed down generation to generation. In some cases, a name may appear through out a whole family generation down to the next, not just on one branch. Cousins share a name that grandpa had that his father had that... well, you get the idea. It doesn't have to be a male name getting handed down. Grandma way back when may have many granddaughters down the line with her name. I firmly believe that all the Johns on my maternal Bible line, are named for ancestor Johann Christian Bible and his father Hans Adam Bible. John in German is Johannes. Both Johann and Hans are short forms of Johannes. The prevalence of one name, and even the middle name it's paired with, can cause confusion for their descendants researching their family history, as I will illustrate in the following paragraph.
One early trend was to name the first daughter after both grandmothers. Sometimes, however, the daughter would be named for the mother and a grandmother. This isn't so bad unless you encounter what I did when first attempting to research my paternal Gooch and Padgett lines. It was compounded by the custom of first cousins marrying. In the time before computers, when perusing a census was done on microfilm, I began looking into those lines. My paternal grandfather's mother was a Gooch, her mother a Padgett. There were so many Lucinda Janes, Lucy Janes, Eliza Janes and Liza Janes, either surnamed Gooch or Padgett, that I gave up. Say, for instance (and this may not be exact as it's been a while since I dared touch these lines) Lucinda Jane Gooch, whose Jane likely came from her mother Eliza Jane, married a Padgett cousin. She would name her first daughter Lucinda Jane, surnamed Padgett. Well, Lucinda Jane Padgett grows up and marries a Gooch cousin and guess what she names her daughter? What you thus have in a line is Lucinda Jane Gooch > Lucinda Jane Padgett > Lucinda Jane Gooch. Yeah. Frustrating, especially if your information is lacking dates for clarity as mine was. The great-aunt who had gathered the information either found dates lacking in her research or she inadvertently omitted them. Her handwriting was also a handicap. She passed on many years ago and I have no idea what happened to her many spiral notebooks with genealogical information. On my maternal side, Margaret 'Peggy' Stamper Holloway was my 3x great-grandmother. Her granddaughter, my great-grandmother, was Charity Margaret Bible La France. Charity has a granddaughter named Margaret, daughter of son William 'Buster' La France. While there is no certainty, I wonder if my mother's sisters Margie and Peggy were so named as both are common nicknames for Margaret. Aunts were not excluded from consideration. The name Charity itself came from my great-grandmother's maternal aunt, Charity Holloway DeSpain. Another early naming trend involved naming the first son after either his father and maternal grandfather or both grandfathers. When I discovered, on my maternal side, my great-grandfather Walter LaFrance's older most brother, who was the first born, was named Paul Ozwin LaFrance I knew right off he was named for their father Paul LaFrance and maternal grandfather Ozwin Wilcox. Uncles weren't left out either. On my paternal side, the twin brother of my 2x great-grandmother Lucinda Jane Bolton Jones Cunningham was named Erastus Alexander Bolton. His first name was taken from the husband of their maternal aunt Lucinda Jane Cleveland Clark (where my 2x great-grandmother got her name). Alexander was taken from their maternal grandfather Alexander Bolton. Maiden names were useful as well. Still referring to my paternal side, my 4x great-grandmother was Delilah Lee before she married Alexander Bolton. Her maiden name was given to their son Michael Lee Bolton. My mom's sister, Margie, had five daughters. All but one has namesake. My cousin Kathy name her only child Kandy Sue after her sister Debbie Sue who named second daughter Amanda Gail after their sister Sandy Gail who named daughter Joy Marie after Debbie Sue's older daughter who died from crib death. My cousin Peggy Ann opted to pass her middle name down to her daughter Lisa Ann. Their older sister, Lynda Pearl, somehow, for whatever reason, got left out of the honors. If you study your family's names close, you may be able to discern who someone's namesake is. Of course, it could be coincidental that a name appears often and isn't truly a namesake. I think such maybe the case with the many Barbaras, Jennifers and Maries on my mother's side. I will usually make a presumption if I don't know for sure if something sticks out well enough for me. Namesakes, however, can come from more than family. Back to my maternal side, a 4x great-grandfather was James Madison Oliphant. My paternal grandmother had a paternal aunt, Mary Ann Cunningham, who married Benjamin Franklin Ray. I have a cousin on my paternal side whose daughter was named Ashley by her grandfather who was a huge fan of the character with the same on the soap opera 'The Young and the Restless'. Notable names like James Madison and Benjamin Franklin are obvious as to who their namesakes are. But not every Ashley is named for the soap opera character. Sometimes we'll get it, sometimes so we won't.
IN THE FUTURE
If you are expecting, or know someone who is, may I suggest using the nine months to thoroughly research for a unique moniker for the little one due. They should have a name that is theirs, a name that isn't the same as 3 or 4 or 9 during their school years. Look to your family tree, a character from your favorite book or movie, a family friend or a teacher who influenced you. Consider combining names. On my maternal side, a cousin's daughter and son-in-law named their daughter Briley, a combination of Brittany and Wesley. You can combine 2 or 3 or more names, perhaps using a letter from one and 2 letters from another, etc. Consider a surname for either a first or middle name in an effort to revive it if the line is in danger of dying out, or has died out. Remember, trendy names in and of themselves are nice, but more than a handful is overwhelming.
Resources I turned to were http://www.behindthename.com
Census records can be perused at http://www.familysearch.com and http://www.ancestry.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please keep it clean.