The Lutherans in Mecklenburg and Pommern areas in northeast Germany (before 1945) had as many as 6 to 8 given names, whereas in the Saarland in southwest Germany, across from France, a Catholic strong hold, almost no one has 2nd given name on birth records..... oh, well... David Samuelsen Bill Benson wrote: > > Nancy, > > There are no stupid questions!, we often say in the world of librarians. > > A quick look on the Internet shows that it is, or was common to give > children 3 first names in parts of Germany - "most often the names of their > godparents, not their parents"; it may be common among Jewish people; some > people think it is magic to have 3 names; some think it is bad luck; common > in the Bahai faith; some American Indian tribes do it; common in the South > (Alabama for one); Ghanaians often have three first names; some Irish have > 3, sometimes all saint's names; some parents name their kids this way > (according to the grown up kids) for "fun"; and all this by searching "three > first names" (with the quotes) on Google. Maybe this doesn't help, but at > least it was a fun question! > > Bill Benson > > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] > Sent: Thursday, July 25, 2002 8:36 AM > To: [email protected] > Subject: [Tri-Counties] names > > Does any one know why in the late 1700's early 1800's some people have 4 > names , such as Alexander Hamilton Phyllip Hicks? Was it because they > might have been Catholic? I know this is a stupid question but I am > curious that I might be missing something that could lead me in a > direction for researching. > Thanks > Nancy Hicks > > ________________________________________________________________ > GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO! > Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less! > Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit: > http://dl.www.juno.com/get/web/. > > ==== PABRADFO Mailing List ==== > Tri-Counties Site includes nearly 700 Cemetery Listings available from the > township pages and from the Cemetery Index at > http://www.rootsweb.com/~srgp/jmtindex.htm > > ==== PABRADFO Mailing List ==== > Your family and historical materials are needed to make the Tri-Counties site grow at http://www.rootsweb.com/~srgp/jmtindex.htm