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Tradition of using paternal grandfather name

  • 20-12-2020 5:29pm
    #1
    Registered Users Posts: 316 ✭✭


    Hi All
    Just looking for some comments and observations regarding traditional practice of using paternal grandfathers name for first born son in Irish farming families.

    Louis


Comments

  • Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 6,609 Mod ✭✭✭✭pinkypinky


    I've mentioned it in the main sticky.

    Very standard but not obligatory across Ireland (not just farmers):

    First boy after paternal grandfather
    Second boy after maternal grandfather
    third boy after father
    fourth & subsequent usually after siblings of parents but popes can be in the mix

    First girl after maternal grandmother
    Second girl after paternal grandmother
    third girl after her mother
    fourth & subsequent usually after siblings of parents

    If a child was born on a saint's day, that might influence the name too.

    Genealogy Forum Mod



  • Registered Users Posts: 316 ✭✭louis346789


    Thanks a million. Am grasping at straws at this stage.


  • Registered Users Posts: 398 ✭✭VirginiaB


    Very common for all in the 19c but not at all universal, as PinkyPinky noted. I have a great-grandmother, born Co Kings/Offaly in 1847. She had ten children, five boys, five girls. The first two girls were named for the two grandmothers--her mother first, his mother second. But not a one of the five sons was named for either grandfather. She was a strong-minded woman and had her opinions.


  • Registered Users Posts: 78,218 ✭✭✭✭Victor


    I have four uncles with the same name (mother's brother and father's three brothers-in-law), I hate the practice. Fully a quarter of my male ancestors going back 200-300 years are called the same name.

    Mother's known-as name, father's sister, mother's friend's name, sister's second name and niece's name are all the same.

    Brother went for very different non-family names. Other brother went for Welsh names (Welsh wife).

    Friends have two children, with the son taking both the grandfathers' names and the daughter taking both the grandmothers' names in the opposite order.


  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Education Moderators Posts: 27,088 CMod ✭✭✭✭spurious


    I had some relatives who were brothers and all had the same first name, Thomas, their paternal grandfather's name. To distinguish between them, they were Thomas James, Thomas Patrick and Thomas Francis, and it was their middle names they were called by.
    I haven't found another Thomas in their lines since then.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 316 ✭✭louis346789


    Yes it's crazy. I have nothing but Thomas James and Patrick. No chance of differentiating.
    My mother decided enough was enough and christened me Louis.


  • Registered Users Posts: 643 ✭✭✭Mick Tator


    I don’t have a major issue with the traditional naming pattern. It can make genealogy somewhat more difficult, but now that we have the mother’s maiden name since the late 1800’s (and often earlier) any inconvenience is surmountable.
    William is a common name in my family – the earliest mention is 1221 in the Assizes Rolls. John, Joseph, Robert and Thomas all go back almost that far and are well-represented today. Some are more represented in specific branches and can be used as search aids- a reason why I'm in favour. It is much better to put up with a little confusion than having an influx of individuals named Willow / Peaches / Dwane / Jayden.


  • Registered Users Posts: 39,366 ✭✭✭✭Itssoeasy


    The only tradition in regard to names in my family is the third son(which hasn’t happened that often) is named after the father which my brother is named after my dad and my uncle is named after my grandfather and it goes back at least two more generations after that. It’s not been carried forward as of yet. Also John or jack are very common first names in my family on my dads side. It doesn’t seem to have happened on my mother’s side though in any way either male or female.


  • Registered Users Posts: 398 ✭✭VirginiaB


    John Grenham had an informative and amusing blog post about first names earlier this year--29 June 2020. Worth a read, as always. Names that are place-specific are especially interesting but alas, not so many of those.

    https://www.johngrenham.com/blog/2020/06/29/mary-john-mary-john-mary-john-mary


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