A child could always have been named for his/her godparents (whether related or just friends of the family). If you have access to church records which record the godparents, you can check this. It certainly would explain the Alexander Duncan Smith example. And of course, there's always the prospective inheritance aspect of it all. I have always heard that there was a naming pattern used by the Germans, but I've never been able to find evidence of it. However, I have found evidence that the child was named for the godparents. Or perhaps the particular godparents were chosen because of their names? At any rate, in a survey of approximately 80 years of church records from Trinity Lutheran in Lancaster, PA, it is almost invariable that the child's middle (use name) name is the use name of the godparent/sponsor of the same gender. There are two godparents/sponsors and are almost always a married couple. I found a few instances where the godparents were unmarried people and then they were usually a couple about to get married or one or another of the grandparents and single uncles/aunts, etc. The only exceptions to this naming pattern appear to have been when the parents themselves stood as the godparents/sponsors, or occasionally where the new child was named for recently deceased child of the same g! ender. Given that pattern held for 80 years in PA and only really disappeared when the Lancaster records (and presumably daily business in general) switched to English, I expected the same pattern to have come from Germany and to be evident there. I was wrong, at least a little bit. I've found a pattern in my area of interest in the northern Kraichgau, Baden (between Mosbach & Sinsheim). It is very different. The child usually has two sponsors, but they are the same gender as the child and the child's combined name is the combined use names of the two sponsors. Thus, in 1725 Johann Georg Christoph Stech's name comes from Johann Christoph Winterbauer and Georg Buntz. I don't know if this custom was typically Germanic or if it was localized to my area of the Kraichgau and I'm not sure I'll ever find out as I only have connections to that one small area of Baden. I would appreciate additional information on this point if anyone has it. Ginni Morgan >>> Sandra Ferguson <[email protected]> 4/6/09 10:22 AM >>> My Scottish family named after family members, hit and miss, not using any pattern, plus naming for family friends featured prominently....this included both given and surname...for example Alexander Duncan Smith, named for Alexander Duncan, member of their congregation and, I assume, a friend....also, Andrew Finley Smith...then there is the 'best' of all - Ferdinand Spangler Smith.....go figure! S. These naming conventions may only be true foe Scotch and Irish -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Sandra Ferguson Sent: Monday, April 06, 2009 12:17 PM To: [email protected]; [email protected] Subject: Re: [PaOldC] naming order Use this only as a hint, a clue, rather than fact. Personally, none of my families have ever followed any particular naming order, and many named children for adult friends rather than family members.... Sandra Does someone have information on the naming order of children born in the mid 1800'S? Were they still using the naming order at that time? ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message -- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG. Version: 7.5.557 / Virus Database: 270.11.43/2043 - Release Date: 4/6/2009 6:22 AM ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This communication with its contents may contain confidential and/or legally privileged information. It is solely for the use of the intended recipient(s). Unauthorized interception, review, use or disclosure is prohibited and may violate applicable laws including the Electronic Communications Privacy Act. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender and destroy all copies of the communication.

My Scottish family of Smiths were members of the Seceder Presbyterian congregations, and they didn't have sponsors or godparents....at least they aren't mentioned in the records. I have the records a lot of Lutheran and German Reformed churches in York Co... ALL those I see have both a male and a female sponsor. In some instances the child has the given name of the same sex sponsor , but certainly not always....there are plenty as I scan down the pages where the child doesn't have the name of either. So, from what I see I'd think that your northern Kraichgau, Baden (between Mosbach & Sinsheim)) naming is not common for other areas. I think this all illustrates that naming patterns aren't set in stone, and many folk did not follow them at all, so while we can 'consider' the names of children as possible family names, we mustn't take it as fact. S. "A child could always have been named for his/her godparents (whether related or just friends of the family). If you have access to church records which record the godparents, you can check this. It certainly would explain the Alexander Duncan Smith example. And of course, there's always the prospective inheritance aspect of it all. > > I have always heard that there was a naming pattern used by the Germans, > but I've never been able to find evidence of it. However, I have found > evidence that the child was named for the godparents. Or perhaps the > particular godparents were chosen because of their names? At any rate, in > a survey of approximately 80 years of church records from Trinity Lutheran > in Lancaster, PA, it is almost invariable that the child's middle (use > name) name is the use name of the godparent/sponsor of the same gender. > There are two godparents/sponsors and are almost always a married couple. > I found a few instances where the godparents were unmarried people and > then they were usually a couple about to get married or one or another of > the grandparents and single uncles/aunts, etc. The only exceptions to > this naming pattern appear to have been when the parents themselves stood > as the godparents/sponsors, or occasionally where the new child was named > for recently deceased child of the same g! > ender. > > Given that pattern held for 80 years in PA and only really disappeared > when the Lancaster records (and presumably daily business in general) > switched to English, I expected the same pattern to have come from Germany > and to be evident there. I was wrong, at least a little bit. I've found > a pattern in my area of interest in the northern Kraichgau, Baden (between > Mosbach & Sinsheim). It is very different. The child usually has two > sponsors, but they are the same gender as the child and the child's > combined name is the combined use names of the two sponsors. Thus, in > 1725 Johann Georg Christoph Stech's name comes from Johann Christoph > Winterbauer and Georg Buntz. I don't know if this custom was typically > Germanic or if it was localized to my area of the Kraichgau and I'm not > sure I'll ever find out as I only have connections to that one small area > of Baden.

See "18th Century PA German Naming Customs" at www.kerchner.com/germname.htm. You may want to turn off/down the audio!! David Lambert