Given Names.....

[BobG]

Question involving Scottish naming patterns.

If either of the parents of a married couple were deceased at the time the married couple was naming a newborn, would the decease’s’ names more likely to be used? Less likely to be used? Skipped over completely?

BobG

[Jack]

Hi Bob,

Speaking only on any of my own family who did use a naming pattern, it didn't seem to make any difference if either of the couple's parents were deceased - the naming pattern just continued as though they were living.

They certainly weren't skipped over - i'd even say that if a newborn's G-parent died just before his / her birth, then the name could be used out of normal sequence. But this of course depended on the child's gender.

Maybe that's why we get so many unusual "Ina" names at times if the newborn was a girl - and the newly-deceased G-parent was her mother's father.
Though it was more difficult to name a son after a newly-deceased granny. Maybe some couples gave the son his gran's m.s. as a middle name, or in my own family, those who used a pattern just waited for the next girl to arrive.

But a few of my families never used a naming pattern at all - and some only partially.

Jack

[StewL]

Hi Bob

To further comment on what Jack wrote, I got my grannies M.S. as my given names.

Stewart - Mothers maiden name
Graham - Paternal ggrandmothers maiden name
Barton - Maternal grandmothers maiden name.

Older sister got Stewart thrown in to her given names too.

So I guess it was dependent on individual choices of parents.

[Ina]

I agree with Jack. My grandfather Alexander Ferguson died three weeks before my young sister was born. My mother named her Alexandra.

Ina

[HeatherH]

Naming patterns can also depend on where you are.For example my 2 oldest sisters have my Mum and Gran's maiden names as middle names,the next 2 children were born in Montreal Canada and have no middle names and the next 2 have surnames as middle names.
HeatherK

[DavidWW]

Question involving Scottish naming patterns.

If either of the parents of a married couple were deceased at the time the married couple was naming a newborn, would the decease’s’ names more likely to be used? Less likely to be used? Skipped over completely?

BobG

No set rules in this situation, but much more likely that someone's memory would be commorated by use of the deceased's name.

I've also come across several examples of the "normal" naming pattern being interrupted by the use of the name of a great-grandparent following their death shortly before the birth.

It took me and my mother's cousin a while to figure out the derivation of his mother, my great-aunt's, name, - Fanny Victoria Douglas McLENNAN's name, - take away the Victoria which was due to it being her Jubilee in the year of birth - 1887, - then it turned out that Fanny DOUGLAS was a great-granny who'd recently died.

Davie

[AnnetteR]

One of my GG Aunts had her first child, a daughter, 3 months after her husband drowned at sea in a fishing boat accident and she named the child Alexandrina after her husband whose name was Alexander.

Annette

[BobG]

To all that took the time to respond to my question….thanks. I’m trying to figure out what my great-great grandparents did or didn’t do, when it came to naming their children.

[Skene Dhu]

Hello BobG,
My advice, would be to take the naming pattern as a rough quide only. To put a spanner in the works, the naming also applied when the person died. An example in my family was James CONNACHER b.1857 in Kirkintilloch, on his death cert. in 1917 at Garngadhill, Glasgow he was named James Cunningham CONNACHER. Now the only Cunningham that I can find in my tree was a David CUNNINGHAM, who died in 1903, David was the first husband of Euphemia Spence CONNACHER, who was James`s niece.

awe`ra best
Skene Dhu

[DavidWW]

Hello BobG,
My advice, would be to take the naming pattern as a rough quide only. To put a spanner in the works, the naming also applied when the person died. An example in my family was James CONNACHER b.1857 in Kirkintilloch, on his death cert. in 1917 at Garngadhill, Glasgow he was named James Cunningham CONNACHER. Now the only Cunningham that I can find in my tree was a David CUNNINGHAM, who died in 1903, David was the first husband of Euphemia Spence CONNACHER, who was James`s niece.

awe`ra best
Skene Dhu

And then there were the occasions when the birth was particularly difficult and the doctor's or midwife's name was used.

There was also the strong tradition that the first baby baptised by a newly appointed minister, his first ministry, was given his name !!

Davie