Given names

[Barry]

We in Britain and USA share much common heritage and included are our given names (what were called Christian names when I were a lad).

In Britain these tend to be pretty much traditional with a few exceptions. In the USA there are also many traditional names BUT, here's the thing, there is a preponderance of surnames (family names) used as given names. So we might have David, Michael, Susan, Mary alongside Washington, Jackson, Taylor and Macauley. As we know surnames came into being to distinguish people of the same (given) name once populations began to increase. (David son of John would be called David Johnson not just plain Johnson)

My question to our American friends is how did this about-face naming start?

BTW I once worked with a Harrington James and I always wanted to call him James Harrington (we settled for Harry)

As a subsidiary question - why are so many American girls being given neutral or male names?

[Pleater]

Hello Neighbour!!

It isn't just in the US - go back far enough and Anne was a man's name. I supose it could be something to do with Queen Anne - but the girl's name was Hanna, Nannie or Nan.

Anne the Pleater

[EagleJCS]

I don't understand what you're talking about Barry (says John Scott).

Seriously, though, for the boys names, I think some parents wanted to gift their child with a unique name (some guys I've known with those unique names want to return the gift somehow). Other parents may have wanted to honor family heritage and/or traditional family names in some way. Those are the only explanations that come to mind (keeping in mind I haven't gotten any sleep since yesterday). As far as the girl naming goes, I haven't got a clue.

I've been doing some family research, and my father and my grandfather were the first in 6 generations to be Sr/Jr (and the previous pair is somewhat debatable, as I can't find a recorded middle name for the elder). Fortunately, most of my family used fairly common names for their times, and didn't pass them on more than a generation or so.

[Sir William]

In Britain and the US was common (though it was not certainly not consistently done) during the 18th and 19th centuries to name the first born after the father's father, the second son after the mother's father, the third after the father, and the fourth after a favorite brother, uncle, or with the mother's maiden name.

In my mother's family the name Parker can be found in almost every generation. When I began doing geneology, I found a Parker family from the early 19th century.

It was also popular to name the child after a popular person - such as the president, local political or community leader, a general, etc. Some Civil War veterans named their son after a commanding officer or general, former comrade, etc.

[budd4766]

I think people here name kids because they like the sound of the name...probably no other reason for it than just that they like it.

Most names these days have no real meaning...people aren't named to honor anything...they're named because the parents thought it sounded "cute" at the time, and no other reason than that.My folks tagged me Donnie Keith...and for all my life, I've been known as "the guy with two first names", because Keith is a common first name here.

(I wonder if Keith Richards had the same problem? Maybe the "s" saved him..?) I know where the name came from, but not many people do.

[Seth Mac]

I always wanted to name my first born son for my grandfather...However, my grandfather's name was Columbus Valley Roper, and he went by C.V. or "Dot" (which can be a nickname for Dorothy). So I went with Roper as my son's first name...

BTW - we just had a new son born on 2/11 and he is Carter McAdams - Carter was my great grandfather's middle name + McAdams was my maternal grandmother's maiden name (and my middle name as well, hence Seth Mac).

[piperdbh]

People will name thier children whatever they like, as is their privilege, but I wish they would consider that the child will not always be a child. For the life of me, I cannot imagine an 83-year old woman named Tiffany, or two old men playing checkers at the general store: "So, Courtney, how's life been treatin' you?" "Not too bad, Jordan. You?"

Personally, I prefer first names used as first names, but to each his own.

I knew of a man named Forest Plants, I personally know Herb Dills, my father's sister's name is Terry and her husband's name is Leslie (he goes by Les). They regularly receive mail addressed to Mr and Mrs. Terry R_________.
I know a (former) couple who used their two names and rearranged them a bit to come up with thier sons' names. She kept her maiden name when they married, and gave it to one of the sons and the other bears his father's surname.

[ccga3359]

I was born in England in '65. My mum wanted to give me a unique/American name (I don't know why, I've always liked Desmond or Reg). She gave me the name Grant, I guess not realizing the Scottish contribution. She was quite peeved when a short time latter another kid down the way was called Grant. Although still not a common name over here in Canada i did work for a company that employed 3 of us (I suggested that I should thusly be called "good looking Grant" to avoid further confusion, I think they ended up calling me stumpy).

I always liked the Victorian custom of bird names. My grandfather was Edward Cecil Peacock Wells and a childhood hero was Robert Falcon Scott. So when it came time to name my first child he became Alexander Eric Falcon... then when we had our daughter she became Taylor Megan Peregrine.

With my daughter you'll notice that her first name is a transfered last name and further, transfered boys first name.

[TheBlueCow]

My parents used what they call the "Maine Naming Scheme", that is they used my father's first and middle names as the first names (luckily for them we're both boys :P). For middle names, they took the first names of a male from each side of the family. So my brother got [dad's first name] [mother's father's first name] and I got [dad's middle name] [dad's brother's first name]. They are all biblical or otherwise common names. They would have used my dad's father's first name as my middle name, but it was an outdated name and they did not want to give that to me.

Personally, when I name my future children, I have no plans on using previous family members' names (at least not as first names, maybe middle names though). I have a boy's name picked out to offer when the time comes, and by offer I mean my first born son WILL have this name. The name I plan to use is not all that common, as far as I know, and a quick google search shows it is a last name, generally. I picked it for it's meaning.

[gilmore]

We in Britain and USA share much common heritage and included are our given names (what were called Christian names when I were a lad).

In Britain these tend to be pretty much traditional with a few exceptions. In the USA there are also many traditional names BUT, here's the thing, there is a preponderance of surnames (family names) used as given names. So we might have David, Michael, Susan, Mary alongside Washington, Jackson, Taylor and Macauley. As we know surnames came into being to distinguish people of the same (given) name once populations began to increase. (David son of John would be called David Johnson not just plain Johnson)

My question to our American friends is how did this about-face naming start?

BTW I once worked with a Harrington James and I always wanted to call him James Harrington (we settled for Harry)

As a subsidiary question - why are so many American girls being given neutral or male names?

In the American South this has been going on for centuries. We use distaff surnames often as middle names, and less often as first names.

Sometimes a child would be after some one, usually a relative, by giving him (and sometimes her) both the forename and the surname of the person honored, such as, say, Andrew Jackson Smith, [or Robert Lee D______(my former brother-in-law's name.)] If there were a lot of Andrews in a family or town, the person might be called by both names to distinguish him from the others, e.g., "Andrew Jackson." From there, perhaps he would come to be called simply "Jackson." This being the name he was known as, it would be the one used when a child was named after him.

One of my nephews is named "Lark," originally the surname of a woman who married into our family in the 1700's, but used as a given name since then almost continuously.

Sometimes it can be confusing to strangers. I had a cousin named Byington Lindsay who was often called Lindsay Byington by those who didn't know better.

My sister was given her paternal grandmother's maiden name, Daniel, as a middle name. She hated it when when was a child, but seems to have recovered.

I have heard that the Irish also use family surnames as middle names. Does this happen in Ireland, or more among descendants of Irish in America?