England Naming Customs

Understanding given names and surnames can help you trace your ancestors. The English did not have a specific naming pattern, but they often gave their children family names. Sometimes when a child died, the next child of that sex born into the family was given the same name. Occasionally two or more living children in the family had the same given name.

Surnames
The nobility and wealthy landowners first began using surnames. Merchants and townspeople adopted the custom, as eventually did the rural population. This process took several centuries. Surnames developed from several sources. For example:


 * Occupational (based on a person’s trade, such as Carter or Smith)
 * Geographical (based on a person’s residence, such as Drayton or Debenham)
 * Patronymic (based on a person’s father’s name, such as Jones, son of John)
 * Descriptive or nickname (such as Joy or Child)

Several websites help you map the geography of English surnames. To learn more, see Surname Distribution Maps. GenMap UK (£) helps you create your own United Kingdom surname distribution maps.

Projects that study specific surnames are called one-name studies. The Guild of One-Name Studies is an example of an organization that has identified several thousands such projects.

The British Surnames website can help you learn a wide variety of information about English surnames. Genuki.co.uk maintains a 'Surname List' by county which could prove to be helpful.

Another aspect of English surnames is pronunciation. "A List of Surnames Pronounced Differently from What the Spelling Suggests" (1883), available online, identifies some more unusual examples.

Given Names
When they were christened, children usually received one or two given names. Some were named after parents or other relatives. (see also British Naming Conventions)

For a book describing given names, see:


 * Withycombe, E.G. The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names. Third Revised Edition. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 1950. (Family History Library book 1950. BYU FHL book CS 2375 .G7 W5 1977.)

Latin Names
Many names in pre-1700 records are in Latin. The Record Interpreter (1892) identifies:


 * 1) Latin Forms of English Surnames
 * 2) Latin Christian Names with Their English Equivalents

A select list of Latin given names with the English equivalent are listed in Volume three of David E. Gardner’s, and Frank Smith’s Genealogical Research in England and Wales. Three Volumes. Salt Lake City, Utah: Bookcraft Publishers, 1956–64. (Family History Library book .)

Naming Conventions
Modern habits for naming children often focus on what sounds good to the new parents, and what sounds good is heavily influenced by popular culture. For this reason, there is a trendy flood of Jason, Justin, or Jared and a flood of Zach and Megan - names almost unheard of 20 years ago.

In older Great Britain, other norms governed the naming of children. For example, family researchers might run across Biblical names, such as Zacharias or Benjamin, or names for religious principles, like Faith, Hope, and Charity. Such names were not common in England and may suggest that the family was particularly committed to religion and may have been non-conformist dissenters (belonged to a church other than the state Church of England, or Anglican). This can be a significant hint to the family researcher.

The most common convention, however, was for the parents to choose names that honored people. Sometimes the people so honored were powerful people, such as a local, wealthy landowner. Sometimes the names honored royalty. So there were many Henrys named after King Henry and many Georges named after King George. The most common persons to honor, however, were the gender appropriate grandparents and parents. This can be another hint to differentiate between two sets of same-name parents having children in the same town or village or to the likelihood of a “missing” child in a family. It also introduces the concept of “replacement” children. Often considered repugnant to modern ears, a child’s untimely death meant the end of the honor bestowed upon someone. Since many children died in the 17th and 18th centuries, parents had no problem with re-using the name of a dead child for a subsequent birth. A family might, therefore, have several John or Jane children. Occasionally, the same name was given to more than one living child, but this was rare. The re-use of a name almost always meant that the first child with that name had died.

There was even a convention in the order in which the ancestors were honored – probably to avoid insulting anyone. Although it was far from universally used, the usual British naming convention was as follows:

• The first son was named after the paternal grandfather • The second son was named after the maternal grandfather • The third son was named after the father • The fourth son was named after the oldest paternal uncle • The fifth was named after the second oldest paternal uncle or the oldest maternal uncle

• The first daughter was named after the maternal grandmother • The second daughter was named after the paternal grandmother • The third daughter was named after the mother • The fourth daughter was named after the oldest maternal aunt • The fifth was named after the second oldest maternal aunt or the oldest paternal aunt

If there was duplication (for example, the paternal grandfather and the father had the same name), then the family moved to the next position on the list.

For Further Reading

 * Behind the Name The etymology and history of first names
 * Scott Smith-Bannister, Names and Naming Patterns in England, 1538-1700. (Oxford Historical Monographs) New York: Oxford University Press, 1997.


 * Bardsley, Charles W. A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames. Reprint of 1901 edition. Baltimore, Maryland.)Genealogical Publishing Company, 1980. Digital version at Internet Archive - free; (Family History Library book .) This book mentions early dates and places where particular surnames are common.


 * Guppy, Henry Brougham. Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing, 1968. (Family History Library book 942 D4g 1968.) This book discusses the geographic origins and meanings of certain surnames.


 * Hanks, Patrick, and Flavia Hodges. A Dictionary of Surnames. New York, New York: Oxford University Press, 1988. Digital version at Ancestry - free; (Family History Library book . BYU FHL book CS 2385 .H27 1988.) The book contains entries for most major surnames of European origin and some rare surnames.


 * Lasker, G. W. and C. G. N. Mascie-Taylor. Atlas of British Surnames: With 154 Maps of Selected Surnames. Detroit, Michigan: Wayne State University Press, 1990. (Family History Library book 942 D4Lg.) This book charts with maps the density of surnames in England.


 * Lloyd, Lewis C.; Charles Travis Clay and David C. Douglas, eds. The Origins of Some Anglo-Norman Families. Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. (Family History Library book 942 D4n.) This book studies the origins of prominent Anglo-Norman families.


 * Rogers, Colin D. The Surname Detective: Investigating Surname Distribution in England, 1086-Present Day. Manchester, England: Manchester University Press, 1995. (Family History Library book 942 D4rs.) This book looks at the distribution of surnames throughout England.


 * Titford, John . Searching for Surnames: A Practical Guide to their Meanings and Origins. Newbury, England: Countryside Books, 2002. (Family History Library book 942 D4tj.) This book discusses the meaning and origins of early surnames.