I wonder how many of us named our children using this convention:
Birth Order | Named After the |
1st daughter | Maternal grandmother |
1st son | Paternal grandfather |
2nd daughter | Paternal grandmother |
2nd son | Maternal grandfather |
3rd daughter | Mother |
3rd son | Father |
4th daughter | Eldest maternal aunt |
4th son | Eldest paternal uncle |
I certainly didn't! So I wonder if my ancestors knew about that convention? Sometimes, names do not follow this convention, because a cousin has already received that name, or perhaps there are similar names in the maternal and paternal families.
However, the article is well worth a read as there are number of different options for tracking down that missing ancestor, based on the names of their grandchildren.
Here is another of the tips:
Examples of patronyms and matronyms:
- Eric Thorvaldsson, AKA Erik the Red, was son of Thorvald and probably had red hair. His son was named Leif Ericson. (Norwegian and Icelandic)
- Geesjie Barentsdochter can be identified as the “daughter of Barent”. (Dutch)
- Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci, AKA Leonardo da Vinci, was the son of Piero of Vinci, Italy.
- Vuk Stefanović Karadžić (1787 – 1864), was the son of Stevan, and Vuk. Vuk means Wolf, and was a given name likely chosen to protect him from bad spirits.
(Serbian)
Extracted from: RootsWeb Review: 10 March 2010, Vol. 13, No. 3
Comments