England Given Name Meanings - International Institute

Nickname Considerations
Parents often consider what diminutives or nicknames there are for a favoured given name. If they don’t fancy living with a Fred or Dolly then they won’t choose Frederick or Dorothy. There really isn’t much the parents can do if their surname is one of those for which a permanent nickname has arisen, such as Dusty Miller, Nobby Clark, Jack Frost, Chalky White Drawers Chester, Foxy Reynolds, Sticker Leach, Nosey Parker, Spud Murphy, Snip or Stitch Taylor and Dickie Bird. Check out Dunkling’s The Guinness Book of Names (1989) for many more examples. Morgan, O’Neill and Harré’s Nicknames: Their Origins and Social Consequences text is a detailed discussion of the origins and promulgation of nicknames, their use as character sketches, as inciters of irritation and rage, as well as in the creation and maintenance of social classes amongst children and adults and in various cultures.

Sibling Influence
A particular child will usually not be given a name of another in the same family, however there are exceptions:


 * When the previous one(s) died


 * To ensure survival of a family given name for sentimental or pecuniary reasons, such as from a will leaving property to ‘my nephew Philip Walker’


 * In early times when both grandparents of the same sex as the child had the same given name. It was considered essential to have a child named after each grandparent and thus ‘two-of-the-same-name’ was not uncommon, especially in Scotland.


 * Peculiar parental attachment to a certain name for example in the 1851 census in Ramsbury, Wilts:

Diack quotes a case from the 1960s of a Mackinnon family in the Western Isles of Scotland named all their six sons Ian! They then had to give them nicknames to differentiate them: Ian Dhu (black),Ian Gear (dumpy), Ian Mor (big), Ian Odhar (sallow), Ian Og (young), Ian Roy (red).

The child’s place in its family can be indicated by using Latin given names such as Tertius, Septieme, Octavia, Nonius, Decimus and the probable record holder, Vicesimus (20th). They can be valuable clues to ‘missing siblings’ for the family historian.

Family Tradition
At one time it was common for families to have what were virtually hereditary first names which they passed on from generation to generation. This has almost disappeared, along with the custom of naming children after their parents and grandparents. Genealogists are well advised to consider if a pattern exists from the data they have, and to consider extrapolating this to previous generations as a way of creating working hypotheses about possible ancestral links which can then be tested. Nowadays the range of acceptable choices is far greater, but when researching ancestors the range was limited and there were definite conventions expected to be used, not just random picking of names the parents happened to like.

In England and Wales a family usually named sons after grandfathers and the father, and daughters after grandmothers and the mother, although the fairly strict pattern seen in Scotland was not adhered to as closely. The parents’ siblings and aunts’ and uncles’ names would also be in the favoured set. In addition, well-loved, rich or unmarried relatives seem to have been the most frequently ‘named-after’. A child born in a second marriage may frequently have been named after the deceased former spouse. If, in the course of research, you find that a couple does not have children named after each parent and grandparent consider reasons why not:


 * Not enough children of right sex born.


 * Grandparents unknown through illegitimacy or early death.


 * Grandparent out of favour.


 * Grandparent had an unfashionable or weird name—but this could be used as a middle name.


 * Titford has pointed out that the child was often named after the godparent, and a grandparent would be honoured to be asked to perform this function for the eldest grandchild. If s/he had already died then an alternative godparent would be needed, such as the eldest brother or sister of a parent, and the child’s name may reflect this.


 * You haven’t found one or more children yet. The first child(ren) may have been christened in the wife’s parish where she went back to her mother for the confinement. Actively seek out such children to complete family groups and assist in finding grandparent’s names.

Note that these techniques are not infallible but should be considered as just another avenue for exploration.

Oftentimes a child was named after a recently deceased relative, or one who hadn’t survived childhood, perhaps a brother or sister of one of his parents. If this happens to be an unusual name it can be particularly helpful in elucidating relationships. Naming a child is a very complicated affair, fraught with all kinds of obstacles, real and unseen. Perhaps the wise parent also considers “What would please the child,” as it is their life they are influencing, not their own.

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Information in this Wiki page is excerpted from the online course English - Understanding Names in Genealogy offered by The National Institute for Genealogical Studies. To learn more about this course or other courses available from the Institute, see our website. We can be contacted at [mailto:wiki@genealogicalstudies.com wiki@genealogicalstudies.com]

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