Middle names

Fortywatt

A middle name as well as a first name given at birth doesn't appear to have been common, at least in counties Kilkenny and Tipperary, before the 1900s, to judge from the civil records.

My problem is establishing whether a possible relation, identified through DNA, who would have been born in 1818 in Ireland, christened Michael and emigrated to the US, is the same as a Michael Montgomery in US records identified by his descendant in the US. I've no idea where the Montgomery bit would have come from, at least in what I know of his Irish background: strong tenant farmers, no known Ascendancy connections.

Of course, the question really may be did people in the States in the 19th century tend to take on (pretentious?) middle names in middle life? His descendant in the US has no suggestions either.

Views appreciated.

Leeside

Fortywatt wrote: »

Of course, the question really may be did people in the States in the 19th century tend to take on (pretentious?) middle names in middle life? His descendant in the US has no suggestions either.

One of my ancestors emigrated to Boston with his young children in the 1880's. One of his sons was simply called James. On the first US census in 1890 however, James had become James Lawrence (not quite as pretentious as Montgomery )

I'm guessing that the addition of the middle name was to fit in with the American custom of the time.

VirginiaB

Middle names were unusual but not unheard-of among Irish immigrants and their children in New York. My gt grandmother was given the names of both grandmothers in 1864--Mary Esther--her parents born Co Antrim and Co Meath. In the latter part of the 19c, middle names became common.  People then started to use what seem to be their confirmation names as middle names.  But I also see plenty of baptisms that include a middle name by this time.
 Earlier--the Famine era and the next few decades--I do see people adding the name of a newly deceased relative, especially if the death was sudden or a child or young person.  It was a sort of memorial to the deceased. Thus my gt-grandfather, parents born Co Meath, was baptized James Patrick, the Patrick being another son who died at 13 mos.  And another gt grandfather's cousin from Co Cork, John, took the middle name Denis for his 13 yr old brother killed in an explosion at work in Manhattan. 
I have seen--but rarely--pretentious names but I have seen them.  There is no great American hero named Montgomery so I can offer no explanation for the name.

Waitsian

My father and his 4 siblings all had middle names corresponding to ancestors surnames. Took me a while into that branch's research before the penny dropped. Quite considerate of my grandparents though. Wonder did they envisage a future genealogist in the family? Kudos regardless.

pinkypinky

You don't say which religion but CoI/Presbyterians often give maiden surnames as middle names.

tabbey

Leeside wrote: »

One of my ancestors emigrated to Boston with his young children in the 1880's. One of his sons was simply called James. On the first US census in 1890 however, James had become James Lawrence (not quite as pretentious as Montgomery )

Lots of people were given middle names, but the priest often did not record it in baptismal register. One granduncle of mine had a middle name recorded at baptism, but then I found he actually had two middle names, so the priest was still skimping on detail.

Montgomery is not a pretentious surname. It was common enough in families whose ancestors came to Ireland since the 1600s. With mixed marriages it crossed the denominational divide. It would be quite reasonable to use a maternal surname as a middle name for the sake of distinguishing somebody with an otherwise common name.

CassieManson

Fortywatt wrote:

Of course, the question really may be did people in the States in the 19th century tend to take on (pretentious?) middle names in middle life? His descendant in the US has no suggestions either.

A lot of my family took middle names when they went to the USA. These middle names didn't appear on any of their Irish records. I assumed that this was because it was the norm in the states. Along with this some of them changed their first or surnames to sound less Irish. So Bridget became Delia, Hannah became Annie......it makes tracing relations difficult at times.