Naming customs may depend on the ethnic group doing the naming. Some have very specific patterns that are usually followed (there are always some that don't follow tradition). When they get to the US, however, many times these naming customs die out in a generation or two. Just as now, there are names that tend to become popular, and then die out again. Some names tend to be very heavily regional. Some folks give their children the nickname version of the name, others give them the full name, then call them by the nickname. Just to give you an ethnic naming pattern, the one that was the typical pattern in Scotland: 1st son: dad's father 2nd son: mom's father 3rd son: dad, unless dad were named after his father. 1st daughter: mom's mother 2nd daughter: dad's mother 3rd daughter: mom While it isn't a 100% guarantee, it often gives good solid clues about the possible identity of the next generation back. Worth looking at--just in case. Usually, but not always, a second child in the family with the same name as an earlier child meant that the first child had died. Some families, especially Catholic German families, reused the same Saint's name as first name for all of their children and called their children by the middle name. Also, the German naming practice is quite similar to the Scots. A Czech researcher told me of a family that named all their boys "Johan Friedrich". The when the Austrian emperor's recruiter came along asking to draft Johan Friedrich, they said quite honestly: "Johan Friedrich is already in the army," thus diverting attention from the rest of their sons named Johan Friedrich. Learn your family's ethnic background & find out the naming customs. Look at known family members to look for naming trends. (Some do a lot of naming for other relatives.) Look at their religion and check out typical naming customs if any. Then look around the neighborhood--check out the census, to see what folks are naming their kids. Some names that show up a lot in New England rarely show up in the South, for example, during the same time period. Lastly, there are a few books out on names & naming customs. (Most name books are for naming babies, but even those will sometimes give you suggestions for nicknames for names so shouldn't be totally ruled out as a possible resource.) Names are fun & interesting. Good luck, Karen