Genealogy Chat

SCOTTISH NAMING PATTERNS

First son is named for the Father's Father.
Second son is named for the Mother's Father.
Third son is named for the Father's Father's Father.
Fourth son is named for the Mother's Mother's Father.
Fifth son is named for the Father's Mother's Father.
Sixth son is named for the Mother's Father's Father.
Seventh through Tenth sons are named for the Father's Great-Grandfathers.
Tenth through Fourteenth sons for the Mother's Great-Grandfathers.

First daughter is named for the Mother's Mother.
Second daughter is named for the Father's Mother.
Third daughter is named for the Mother's Father's Mother.
Fourth daughter is named for the Father's Father's Mother.
Fifth daughter is named for the Mother's Mother's Mother.
Sixth daughter is named for the Father's Mother's Mother.
Seventh through tenth daughters are named for the Mother's Great-Grandmothers.
Tenth through fourteenth daughters for the Father's Great-Grandmothers.

NOTES:

In some cases you will find that the order is reversed with the first and second children, i.e. the first-born son being named after the mother's father and the second-born son after the father's father. If this is the case then the daughters are also usually reversed.

You will also find instances where a child is named 'out of pattern', after an aunt or uncle who has died, or after an admired other relative or friend of the parent.

If a child dies in infancy, his or her name is often given to a subsequent child - a natural consequence of the high birth rate and infant mortality rates of past times.

These are only general guidelines and were certainly not always followed.


Blue

n

blue12, this is not always the case. I am the only daughter in my imediate family, I have two brothers and I was not named after any member of our family. There is no other female right back to my GT GT GT GT Grandmother on either side. With all the unusual names being used now I think this will all change in Scotland.

Hi Alison

I think what blue was saying was this was the pattern that our ancestors followed in the past not necessarily today. My tree certainly maps out the naming pattern until about the 1960's when my mum broke with tradition and gave me and my sisters names she liked although we did get lumbered with middle names of family. I purposley gave my daughters names that were not in the family both first and middle names but then my sister gave her kids middle names that stuck with tradition so it seems its a hard traditon to break.

Jackie

n

Hi all,
just thought i'd say that this list did help me a bit when i got back to parish records,although, my Urquhart line seem to have pretty much followed the pattern my Granny Geddes's family didn't,they used surnames as middle names instead up until the 1940's.
Just thought the list might give some members some insight into the old fashioned way of doing things.

Best wishes to you all
Blue

It certainly helped me blue12...and thanks alot for posting it . Yes it's true that these days those traditions are not followed..and yet surprisingly when I checked our history I found that even up to 1960..my own brothers and sisters and even myself have been named in this way.

Thanks for this. I knew I had seen it somewhere. it will be very useful.

Optimist

Hi Blue, thanks for posting this.
Almost ready to dig deeper into my dads scottish line so this may prove really useful as I think I'm about to hit a brick wall.
Similar naming pattern also applies to my mums family from Devon having just done her side back to 1500's.

Another odd naming Scottish tradition which I have come across is giving the eldest daughter the mothers maiden name as one of her middle names.

My oldest sister has my mothers maiden name as a middle name.

Hi Blue12,
Irish names took the same pattern as Scottish naming of children up to the 1960-70s also.
Strange thing is though that i only gave my children family names as middle names. When we started to look for my husbands family (He spent his life in a home and did not know anything about his family.) All of our children except one has his familys first names, weird????.
Lily.

I have my grandmothers maiden name as a middle name but decided not to name my kids after anybody so if folks are looking in years to come they are goin to have a headache lol

Blue
The second son is normally named after the father,and second daughter after the mother,leastways that's how it is in our family,but we have to be different.
Gerry.