Names and naming
conventions – sometimes they seem to help us and sometimes they don’t! I once researched the name Hezekiah Farrow
(sounds unique enough, right?) to find that apparently every branch of the
family for several generations loved that name.
So, where it “seemed” like a unique name, I ultimately found at least ½ a
dozen who lived in a small area.
On the other hand, I have researched John Smith (sounds
quite popular, right?) to find that only one Smith family lived not just in the
county and in the adjacent counties.
How about that nice Scottish family who followed the
convention of naming their children after family members – we gotta love
them. What about the descendant who went
on to name his children after historical figures – not so nearly as happy with
him.
My parents used nice and conventional names of the time –
Diane, Debbie and Christine – whereas the names of my children and their
cousins are pretty unconventional names.
So, our understanding of names requires that we have some
context, or try and develop some context to help us better understand what were
they thinking as they named their children?!?!
And, forget about spelling – it didn’t count, really!
Is there additional guidance
about “names” that you can share?
Some Upfront with NGS posts about names:
- Girlsʼ names change 7 times more than boysʼ since 1940 Census
- Ellis Island Name Change Rumors Persist
- Variant Names Project
- Baby Name Wizard -- Track Through Time Popular Names!
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