In a message dated 18/09/2006 04:34:28 GMT Daylight Time, [email protected] writes: Though your conclusion is likely correct, you should keep in mind that there are several instances where two children in a particular family have been given the same name without the older one's having died. This sometimes occurred when grandparents on both sides had the same given name, or when, with the high rate of child mortality, the parents simply wanted to insure that the name would pass down in the family. I'd be interested to find an example of this happening in lowland families. I've only ever come across it in highland families, and there it was very common ..even up to the early part of the 20th century. Irene