About 1800, was it common to assume one's mother's maiden name as a middle name? Old birth records rarely show a given middle name. But some of my ancestors in Madison Co/Otsego Co, esp. those with fairly common names and/or an older relative with that name seem to have taken mother's maiden name as a middle name. For instance, Nathan Wells Brown's mother was Anna Wells. There were several other Nathan Brown's around so taking a middle name may have been useful. Nathan had a brother Caleb and John. I have seen a reference to a John Wells Brown, w/ brothers Caleb and Nathan, and I wondered if this was the same family. Teresa