This naming convention is by no means fool proof. I have seen many different versions of it. I have one as follows: The first son was named after the fathers' father The second son was named after the mother's father The third son was named after the father The fourth son was named after the father's eldest brother The first daughter was named after the mother's mother The second daughter was named after the father's mother The third daughter was named after the mother The fourth daughter was named after the mother's eldest sister. None of this applied in my family. All of the ancestors I have found in my father's line were called William and all the females are Isabella. I think because there was a Queen Isabella in Spain or somewhere who had caught everyone's imagination. I was the first daughter in my father and mother's family although I was the sixth child. My mother was 43 year old at the time, so she named me after herself, as it was the only chance she was going to get. Sarah Lowry Z. Day wrote: > I am wondering if the same or similar conventions as have been discussed re > order of births apply to the use of surnames as middle names?