England Given Name Origins - International Institute

Given Names
The term given name is used to denote that name, or names, given to a person early in life, as opposed to a surname inherited from a parent, grandparent etc. and usually common to his or her family members. In western countries the given names usually precede the surname. Formally the term Christian name was used extensively, but it does not reflect the diversity of faiths in the world, and it can be argued that it does not really refer to names older than Christianity itself, for example Old Testament names. The child’s godparents formerly had an important influence on the choice of given name(s).

Basic Indo-European Naming System
Most of Europe and a large part of Asia derives its languages and culture from the Indo-European people. Their name system can still be seen today in all European languages except Latin, Lithuanian and perhaps Armenian (Black). These names were made up of two parts or stems, joined together according to definite rules of composition. The parts might be verbs, adverbs, prepositions, adjectives or nouns as long as they made intelligible compounds, and most seem to have auspicious connotations. In pre-historic times these compounds probably had an intelligible meaning but by historical times they were just names whose meanings were no longer understood.

Examples of ancient names include Earnwulf (‘eagle-wolf’) and Barrivend (‘head-white’). Animal names, particularly those associated with ferocity, swiftness or strength, and colour adjectives were favourite components. The parts may be reversed, and among the Teutons relationships are indicated by retaining the first part in the names of children. The often long words were reduced to shorter forms, much as we shorten Herbert to Bert, or Elizabeth to Liz. In old Gaelic two stems, such as Dumno-vellaunos (‘world-wielder’) could be shortened to become, in this case, Donald.

After the introduction of Christianity to the Gaels a child born on a saint’s day was often baptized with a prefix meaning ‘servant or devotee’ to the given name of that saint. Prior to the 12th century this took the form ofMael or Maol, and after this it became Gille. These formed a number of common Scottish personal names such as Mael-Colum (‘devotee of St. Columba’) now Malcolm, Gille Crìosd (‘servant of Christ’) now Gilchrist, and Giolla Mhartain (‘servant of (St.) Martin’) now Gilmartin and Kilmartin.

Sources of Given Names
The range of names used as second given names is wider than that of first given names because a mother’s maiden name, or unusual personal name with special family significance may be used in this position, perhaps later becoming a conventional given name.

A person’s given name is a badge of cultural identity, which is closely allied to religious identity. The religion and native language are often key factors, overtly or subliminally, in the choice of name for a new baby. A Glyndwr or Blodwen has Welsh affinity, whereas a Hamish or Fiona would have Scottish roots. Even common names are culture-specific in their exact form, thus John is one of the commonest names in Europe but it is reasonable to guess that a John would be English, a Johann or Hans from a German culture, Ian from Scotland, and that a Giovanni has Italian connections. This can be helpful in tracing ancestry as it gives a clue as to place of origin of the family.

Origin of Our Set of Given Names
In each of the main European languages only a few hundred male names, and even fewer female names, form the basic name pool. This pool is supplemented in various ways, such as by surnames and vocabulary words, and some of the new coinages achieve conventional status. Over half of the common names, and in some languages almost all, are from the Christian tradition, and have several variations (cognates) in other languages. In some countries, for example Post-Revolutionary France, and Pre-Revolutionary Russia, there were official sanctions if you did not use names on the church/state approved list. Old Testament Christian names of course overlap with biblical Jewish names, but the latter also have distinct Jewish or Yiddish forms as well.

The next largest group of names are of pre-Christian origin and owe their popularity to having been borne by royalty or aristocracy. In English-speaking lands these include William and Richard from German royalty, and Malcolmand Brianfrom the Gaelic Scots nobility. In Scandinavia many ancient Norse royal names such as Sigrid, Gunner, and Torsion are still popular. The most useful works on the history and origin of given names include J. Cresswell’s Bloomsbury Dictionary of First Names', A Dictionary of First Names by Hanks and Hodges (1991), and E. Withycombe’s ''The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names. ''Foreign versions of English names can be found in the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service book of that name (1973). 

Meaning of Names
In some cultures, for example Arabic, names are ordinary dictionary words and their meaning is readily apparent. Hence parents can choose a name by its meaning. This is not so with most European languages because the meanings are rooted in more ancient languages than the one now spoken, thus many English names have Hebrew, Greek, Latin, or Anglo-Saxon roots and are chosen from the cultural pool for other reasons.

Religious Names
The most widespread names are those taken from the Bible and associated personages of the early church. In the 5th century Christians were exhorted to ‘give their children the names of saints and martyrs in order to win them the protection and patronage of these heroes.’ (Black)

Old Testament
The names of the major characters in the Old Testament are borne by Jews and Christians in every country of Europe as well as wherever Europeans have settled across the world. However, Old Testament names are rarer among Roman Catholics than among Jews and Protestants. Familiar ones are Adam, Benjamin, David, Jacob, and Joseph for men, and Deborah, Eve, Esther/Hester, Judith, Rebecca, Ruth, Sarah, and Susanna for the ladies. Some are now rarely used amongst non-Jews, but are found amongst our ancestors, particularly those belonging to 17th century Nonconformist (Protestant) sects.

These would include the boys Caleb, Hezekiah, Jabez, Reuben, Saul, Seth, and Solomon and the girls Bathsheba, Beulah, Zillah, and the three daughters of Job, Jemima, Keziah and Kerenhappuch. There was a revival of Old Testament names in the 19th century amongst Christian fundamentalists with some of these, for example Abigail, surviving into modern times. Others such as Moses, Solomon and Zipporah are now found almost exclusively in the Jewish community.

Why was David so common amongst all English speakers whether Christian or Jew? It was the name of the greatest biblical king of Israel, and also borne by two kings of Scotland, and the patron saint of Wales. Thus in the English-speaking world there are three reasons for its popularity. In other countries David is regarded as characteristically Jewish.

Among the Ashkenazim (eastern European) Jews a child was formerly never named after a living ancestor, thus a son named after his father would be a posthumous one. The Sephardim (originally from Spain, Portugal and Italy) were not so strict about this practice. In Germany it was the practice to use the father’s first name as a second given name for the child.

To aid integration, Jews often had a secular version of their name, usually more akin to those of the local population, such as Fanny for Faigel, or Elizabeth for Bilhah.

New Testament
New Testament names are used by Christians of all types all over the world but they are naturally rare in Islam and the Far East. The most important ones are those of the four Evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, and the Apostles such as Andrew, Bartholomew, James, Matthew, Peter, Philip, Simon, and Thomas. John was the name not only of an evangelist, but also an apostle, and John the Baptist. Very few women played a major role in the gospels and only Anne, Elizabeth, Mary (from the mother of Jesus, and Mary Magdalene, from whom is also derived the name Madeleine), and Martha are from this source. The pool of Christian names was augmented by using minor characters in the New Testament: only a few males, notably Felix, Jason, and Timothy, but many more female names: Berenice, Chloe, Dorcas, Drusilla, Julia, Lois, Lydia, Priscilla and Rhoda. None are as common as those of the major players in the New Testament.

Another Testament
The Book of Mormon gives us the boys’ names Lehi, Moroni, Mosiah and Nephi which are distinctively Latter-day Saint names of the last 160 years. Although only a small group of boys names, they are of especial significance to family historians as it alerts them to the possibility of much previously researched genealogy! A non-Latter-day Saint patron at Abbotsford FSC recently announced the finding in her American clan of a Moroni whose father had joined the church unbeknownst to her, and the staff were able to show her how to access huge amounts of information on that side of her family!

Saints Names
In this category are grouped the numerous names of those who achieved different kinds of fame in the Catholic Church, and consequently favoured by Roman Catholics.


 * Learned Church Fathers—Ambrose, Augustine, Basil, Gregory, and Jerome.
 * Martyrs—Agatha, Agnes, Anastasia, Laurence, Lucia, Lucilla, andSebastian.
 * Ascetics, Mystics and Visionaries—Anthony, Bernadette, Francis, Simeon, and Teresa.
 * Founders of Religious Orders—Benedict, Bernard, and Dominic.
 * Patron Saints of Places—Andrew of Scotland, Birgit of Sweden, Bridget of Ireland, David of Wales, George of England, and Patrick of Ireland.
 * Patron Saints of Occupations—Cecilia of music Christopher of travellers, and Clement of fishermen (see also Chart 24).

The common feature of all of them is that they each had a cult built around them. In some cases, notably Christopher and George, the legend has grown beyond the probable facts of their lives. Religious parents are of course influenced by the particular names associated with their religion. The overwhelming favourite being Mary, naturally, but this has taken a steep decline in the last 25 years. Perhaps from a combination of less fervent church-going as well as the upsurge of many new names from which to choose.

Religious Leaders
A number of given names are associated with particular Christian church leaders and thus may provide clues as to denominational records to search:


 * Ignatius, and Xavier amongst Roman Catholics
 * Calvin, Luther and Wesley amongst Protestants
 * Brigham, Heber and Tanner amongst Latter-day Saints
 * Selina amongst Methodists

Royal and Aristocratic Names
The names of royalty, especially successful ones, are copied by their subjects. Thus although Elizabeth was originally a New Testament name, its popularity was enhanced enormously in the 16th century and again in the 20th century because of two admired queens of England. Many European kings have been named James and John, and this boosted the popularity of these biblical names.

However, most English and European royal and aristocratic names derive from pagan ones, for example Albrecht/Albert, Charles/Karl, Ferdinand, Franz/Francis, Frederick (no less than 9 kings of Denmark), Gerald, Henry, Hugh, Joseph, Louis/Lewis/Ludwig, Otto, Richard, Robert, Roger, Rudolf and William/Wilhelm. Only the girls Alice, Emma and Matilda are from pre-Christian Germanic names, a far smaller group. Royalists during the mid-17th century favoured Charles and James, and these names are unlikely to have been used by supporters of Cromwell and Parliament.

Old English, or Anglo-Saxon, names were suppressed after the Norman conquest of Britain. The only survivor was Edward because the early king Edward the Confessor was venerated by both Normans and Saxons. A few like Audrey, Alfred, Edwin, Egbert, and Elfreda enjoyed a revival in Victorian times but tend to be unfashionable again now. There are a few survivors from the Old Norse dating from Viking times such as Harold and Ronald, but it is remarkable that the Old Norse personal names were largely abandoned when the Vikings invaded France and later England, as they embraced Christianity, and the French language and names.

Then there were those with pretensions or high aspirations for their progeny such as Charles Stone a tailor, who had his son christened Charles Caractacus Ostorius Maximilian Gustavus Adolphus in Burbage, Wilts on 29 Apr 1781. A right Charley indeed!

Traditional Celtic Names
The third largest stock of English names, after Christianity and Germanic Royalty, comes from the Celtic. These are not always obvious because they have been anglicized. From Irish and Scottish Gaelic come Barry, Brendan, Brian, Bridget, Connor, Donald, Duncan, Ian, Kenneth, Kevin, Neil, Rory and Sheila. From the Welsh come Branwen, Dilys, Dylan, Gareth, Gladys, Gwendolen, Llewellyn, Olwen, Rhiannon and Trevor. Names of pre-Christian mythic heroes and heroines such as Deidre, Niamh and Maeve, are being heard again. The Celtic tradition has also led to the introduction of Malvina, Morna, Oscar and Selma (Hanks and Hodges 1991).

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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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