<<Also middle names are rather recent. Again their use began among the upper classes and 'trickled down' so that today most of us have middle names>> I have always speculated that James McCullen Gordon Hutchinson born in 1790 in Antrim must have been part of the upper class. <grin> Seriously, Linda, how often do we see someone with double middle names like his? Bettye

On 02 Dec, 2005, at 00:31, BHold1@aol.com wrote: > > <<Also middle names are rather recent. Again their use began > among the upper classes and 'trickled down' so that today most > of us have middle names>> I thought that the "middle" name's origin (was equivalent to) the "Christian Name" vs "Given Name" naming convention from the Catholic Church. T.T.F.N. William H. Magill magill@mcgillsociety.org magill@acm.org magill@mac.com whmagill@gmail.com