My immediate family, even down to my grand-nieces and nephews, has always used family names for middle names. But in other branches I have found it isn't always a real clue. One named his son after the doctor who had helped at his birth, another named a son after a close friend. It took quite a while for me to abandon that one as a clue but I did track it down. So use with care. Also, all my nice Scots totally abandoned the practice of children's first names after father, mother etc. just as soon as they landed on these shores. Mary in Greece > My Stewart Riley and Chapman families all gave their oldest son a > middle name that was their mother's maiden name. Often younger > children received significant middle names. > > Becky