Usually after they got through naming the first several children after fathers and mothers, they went to aunts, uncles and brothers and sisters. Although not 100 percent reliable, naming patterns can really help you match up your families. The name "Rosannah" in my Boyd family (who migrated from Newberry, SC to Meriwether County, GA) carried down for several generations and went with the family into Georgia, Alabama and sometimes, farther west. Another Boyd family in Meriwether (John and Eleanor Boyd of Abbeville, SC) carried the family names Hannah, Adam, Ebenezer and Alexander. After tracking this family for several generations (both earlier and later), I came to the conclusion they were probably not related to my Boyds from Newberry. This John Boyd's estate (he died in 1836) was settled in both Meriwether and Abbeville. The list of names of legatees in both cases was identical. Another lucky break came when I was tracking Robert Boyd, b. 1791, son of Hugh and Jennett Boyd of Newberry, who married Chloeretta Gray. They also moved to Meriwether. After much research, I found that Robert's daughter, Julia Boyd, married Benjamin White in Meriwether and had a daughter named Chloretta. That sure helped me connect Julia as a child of Robert and Chloeretta. Also, there was a Frederick Boyd in Meriwether. Since Chloeretta's father was Frederick Gray, it was worth the pursuit and I later "cemented" Frederick as a son of Robert and Chloeretta Gray Boyd. Bible and family records from this family later shared by a descendant "sealed the deal." We are still trying to figure out where the name of "McDuffie" came from in this family. McDuffie was another son of Robert and Chloretta. (Chloretta is seen in at least one source as "Floretta" but her mother's name was Chloeretta Dawkins Gray and the Bible record clearly shows Robert's wife as "Chloeretta" or "Chloretta.") Robert remarried twice after Chloretta's death, both times to women named Martha. Now, that has led me on a merry chase! Although it is maddening and frustrating to search through all the Johns, Roberts, Elizabeths and other common names, you can usually latch onto one child whose name is just a little different and it is well worth the research time to check it out. Judy K. in Newnan, GA

In one generataion if would appear that my Boyd family did name the first son after the fathers father and the first daughter after the father's mother. After that no reason for any of their children and from there on down no one named in the brothers and sisters even carried any of the names! However I did find one child who had 12 children and his 12 children do seem to have a middle name after the generation before. I have often wondered if maybe some of them just started hearing "new" names and like them and used them. Karen in FL -----Original Message----- From: JodieK444@aol.com [mailto:JodieK444@aol.com] Sent: Saturday, July 30, 2005 1:02 PM To: CLANBOYD-L@rootsweb.com Subject: [Boyd] Boyd naming patterns Usually after they got through naming the first several children after fathers and mothers, they went to aunts, uncles and brothers and sisters. Although not 100 percent reliable, naming patterns can really help you match up your families. The name "Rosannah" in my Boyd family (who migrated from Newberry, SC to Meriwether County, GA) carried down for several generations and went with the family into Georgia, Alabama and sometimes, farther west. Another Boyd family in Meriwether (John and Eleanor Boyd of Abbeville, SC) carried the family names Hannah, Adam, Ebenezer and Alexander. After tracking this family for several generations (both earlier and later), I came to the conclusion they were probably not related to my Boyds from Newberry. This John Boyd's estate (he died in 1836) was settled in both Meriwether and Abbeville. The list of names of legatees in both cases was identical. Another lucky break came when I was tracking Robert Boyd, b. 1791, son of Hugh and Jennett Boyd of Newberry, who married Chloeretta Gray. They also moved to Meriwether. After much research, I found that Robert's daughter, Julia Boyd, married Benjamin White in Meriwether and had a daughter named Chloretta. That sure helped me connect Julia as a child of Robert and Chloeretta. Also, there was a Frederick Boyd in Meriwether. Since Chloeretta's father was Frederick Gray, it was worth the pursuit and I later "cemented" Frederick as a son of Robert and Chloeretta Gray Boyd. Bible and family records from this family later shared by a descendant "sealed the deal." We are still trying to figure out where the name of "McDuffie" came from in this family. McDuffie was another son of Robert and Chloretta. (Chloretta is seen in at least one source as "Floretta" but her mother's name was Chloeretta Dawkins Gray and the Bible record clearly shows Robert's wife as "Chloeretta" or "Chloretta.") Robert remarried twice after Chloretta's death, both times to women named Martha. Now, that has led me on a merry chase! Although it is maddening and frustrating to search through all the Johns, Roberts, Elizabeths and other common names, you can usually latch onto one child whose name is just a little different and it is well worth the research time to check it out. Judy K. in Newnan, GA ==== CLANBOYD Mailing List ==== RING OF BOYDS http://k.webring.com/wrman?ring=clanboydwebring&addsite http://worldconnect.genealogy.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?db=boyd-trees