The first name is the 'church' or 'baptismal' name, it was used at christening and on later ceremonial occasions, but they were always *called* by the second name. The first was usually Johann or Hans for men; Anna or Maria for women, occasionally something else. But what they thought of as their name for most purposes, was always the second one. This did not confuse the family at all because the second one was what was used in all normal situations, and how they were 'thought of'. Jan "Ronald K Wiandt,Jr" wrote: > > Would anyone know why German families name their sons with the same > first name? I know that the middle name is always different. Example: > Researching my family line, all the son's first names are Johann and the > middle names were different. Is there any reason for this? > > Ron Wiandt, Jr. > ________________________________________________________________ > 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/tagj. > > ==== PENNA-DUTCH Mailing List ==== > Abbreviations---PD=Pennsylvania Dutch, PMH=Pennsylvania Mennonite Heritage magazine, MFH=Mennonite family History magazine, MRJ=Mennonite Research Journal, LMHS=Lancaster Mennonite Hist. Society. > > ============================== > Shop Ancestry - Everything you need to Discover, Preserve & Celebrate > your heritage! > http://shop.myfamily.com/ancestrycatalog