If you want to get a good idea of how common it was to name children with the same first name, take a look at the registers in any of the German church books! I've look at the KBs of several communities in Pfalz and in Hesse. My ancestors used the same naming patterns . . . as did most of the community. Almost all the male children in the parish are named Johann (something) or Heinrich (something) and the females Anna (something) or Maria (something). I found that when they emigrated to New York, however, they switched the names. Heinrich Jacob became Jacob H., Heinrich Ludwig became Louis (!) H., etc. Kathleen Schilling kschilli@hotmail.com ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com