My Mitchell family from Scotland followed a definite naming pattern. I was wondering if the early Mitchell's in America continued to follow this pattern: One naming practice was as follows Eldest son named after father's father Younger son named after mother's father Youngest son named after father Eldest daughter named after mother's mother Younger daughter named after father's mother Youngest daughter named after mother This was all well and good but generally there were other siblings with offspring of a similar age so that the following could happen. Son No. 1 Son No. 2 Son 1 father's father Son 1 mother's father Daughter 1 mother's mother Son 2 father Daughter 2 father's mother Son 3 new name Son 2 new name Daughter 1 mother Obviously this became more complex for more siblings. The other thing that happened was that people persisted with names even when the children died as babies or in infancy. Liz