Naming pattern - help please!!.....

[davran]

I'm having trouble finding my FORSYTH/BENNIE ancestors, so wondered if the naming pattern might help.

Robert FORSYTH = Ann BENNIE 21/5/1841 Cathcart
Children (from 1851/1861 censuses):
Isabella 1843
James 1845
Catherine 1846
John B 1849
Enos 1852

There may well have been a child or two before Isabella, but I have no record so far.

Catherine FORSYTH = John KNOX 9/8/1866 Renfrew
Children (a lot!):
Ann Bennie 1866
Jean McFarlane 71
Robert Forsyth 73
Catherine Forsyth 1875
John 76
Isabella Forsyth 78
Elizabeth Beatrice Rosanna 79
Agnes Enos Forsyth 81
James Forsyth 83
William 86
Thomas 88
Lydia 91

The first four KNOX children are all obviously named after grandparents in the traditional way. I assume Catherine F and John are named after the parents, but what happens next? I imagine those that have the Forsyth are named after a relation on that side, but who? Are the ones with no Forsyth all named after Knox relatives and why does Elizabeth have three names?

I was hoping the pattern would give me a clue to the parents of Robert F and Ann B, whose births I can't find. According to census info Robert is from Erskine and Ann from Glasgow.

Any suggestions gratefully received.

[joette]

Well it is often then Fathers eldest brother Mothers eldest sister.It could also be Husband/Wife of above particularly if they don't have a son to carry on the name.After the Minister who christened them or a close family friend & even a step-parent or two.Not forgetting that old Uncle who might leave them something in his Will but at least not in mine yet after their fav footballer.

[Tracey]

Hi Davran

1st Son named after Fathers Father
2nd Son named after Mothers Father
3rd Son named after Father
4th Son named after Father's oldest brother
5th Son named after 2nd oldest brother or mother's oldest brother

1st Daughter named after Mothers Mother
2nd Daughter named after Fathers Mother
3rd Daughter named after Mother
4th Daughter named after Mothers oldest sister
5th Daughter named after 2nd oldest sister or Fathers oldest sister

Or this one that goes as far as the 10th child !!
http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~scottish ... terns.html

So far i havnt found the naming pattern to follow suit although some of them did carry the family names but in the wrong order !

Tracey

[DavidWW]

Hi davran

While Scottish families who used the naming pattern most often used ....

1st Son named after Fathers Father
2nd Son named after Mothers Father
3rd Son named after Father

1st Daughter named after Mothers Mother
2nd Daughter named after Fathers Mother
3rd Daughter named after Mother (but see later)

.....I've never been convinced that there was any consistent pattern in widspread use for No. 4 and so on. The use of the parents' eldest siblings' names is well known, but so is that of going back a further generation, i.e. the greatgrandparents of the child.

A frequent complication was the small pool of given names in widespread use in Scotland, so that the same name often was involved. In some families this led to the name being skipped on the second occasion when it should have been used, but not always, so that there are plenty of situations where 2 kids were given the same name, and even 3 kids .......
which introduces the complication that just because there were two kids of the same name it doesn't automatically mean that the first one died, - on many occasions yes, but not reliably so.

>Or this one that goes as far as the 10th child !!
> http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~scottish ... terns.html

I saw this one some years ago, and made my feelings clear Curiously, my challenge of demonstrating to me an example of this pattern has never been met.............

In around 10% of cases, particularly in the deep SW, the paternal/maternal pattern was reversed, so that the above becomes

1st Son named after Mothers Father
2nd Son named after Fathers Father
3rd Son named after Father

1st Daughter named after Fathers Mother
2nd Daughter named after Mothers Mother
3rd Daughter named after Mother

Just to make life really easy, practice in the case of an infant death varied from one extreme to another, - families where the name was never used again, through to families where the name was repeated until a kid survived.

For a couple with normal fertility it is most often the case that births occurred at regular intervals of 18 to 24 months, but any gaps in such a pattern can not only be missing records, but also miscarriages or stillbirths.

David

Link edited by Catriona

[davran]

Wow! and oh dear!! That's very interesting, but it looks as though it doesn't get me any further forward.

Thanks very much anyway for your trouble, folks. I'll store that info away in my Scottish file.

[Rab]

I'm glad the naming convention existed, in my family at least. I see it in quite a few families. It's also given me some indication on where to look for the missing parents of my gx4 grandfather.