Hi Stephanie, all, Stephanie Anderson <spitfire_sh@hotmail.com> writes: > They read through the entries and one of the names we are > researching is Houlihan. Do you know that the Houlihans in Beara also sometimes went by the name Holland? It adds to the fun of tracing the ancestors. > Anyway, another thing I read in a letter was that it was tradition > to name the first son after the paternal grandfather and the second > son after the maternal grandfather. Same goes for the daughters > first daughter after the first paternal grandmother and second after > the maternal grandmother. > > Does anyone have a clue if this is even remotely true? Yes, it is. If you look back in the archive, you can find a message at http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/beara/2004-01/1075059520 Quoting in part from it: First son after father's father Second son after mother's father Third son after father Fourth son after father's oldest brother Fifth son after mother's oldest brother First daughter after mother's mother (or father's mother) Second daughter after father's mother (or mother's mother) Third daughter after mother Fourth daughter after mother's oldest sister Fifth daughter after father's oldest sister -- Bill