Naming Conventions

 

I can call you Betty

And Betty, when you call me, you can call me Al - You Can Call Me Al by Paul Simon

Searching French birth, marriage, and death records is made easier given that the wife kept her maiden name throughout her life. When she was born, got married, was listed in censuses, was listed in her childrens’ baptisms, and died, her name remained the same.

After coming across numerous Julies and Jules’ in the Jacques Mercier family, I found this wonderful article about naming conventions. It also serves as a reminder of how children were named for many generations. In “She has the Same Name Is She her Sister? Naming Conventions of our Ancestors”, Nancy Waters Lauer explains:

“Customarily at baptism a child was given two names. The first was a religious name and the second their call (Rufnahme) name. Unlike today, people were known by their second or middle name. Johann Ludwig Steck was called Ludwig or Louis. However, he can be located in various records as Johann, John, Ludwig, and Louis. Families often used the same saint’s name for most or all their children’s first names. Mary or Maria were popular for girls and St. John and St. George were popular for boys….

 

Male and female children were named in a pattern that held true for generations. This naming scheme is defined below:

1st son after the father’s father

2nd son after the mother’s father

3rd son after the father

4th son after the father’s father’s father

5th son after the mother’s father’s father

6th son after the father’s mother’s father

7th son after the mother’s mother’s father

 

1st daughter after the mother’s mother

2nd daughter after the father’s mother

3rd daughter after the mother

4th daughter after the father’s father’s mother

5th daughter after the mother’s father’s mother

6th daughter after the father’s mother’s mother

7th daughter after the mother’s mother’s mother”

I have one Rockett ancestor whose sister was named for ALL of her aunts: Lucy Jane Sarah Martha Mary Ann Amanda Rockett. Guess her parents wanted to cover all of the aunts so no one got her feelings hurt!

The quote above was accessed 9 Nov 2023 at https://www.scchgs.org/documents/meetinghandouts/German_Naming.pdf