19th Century Naming Pattern

19th Century Naming Pattern

Caution:  Few generic naming conventions were followed in the nineteenth centruy, this one seems to be one of the more prevalent, but was used with many variations.

Offspring Naming Convention
First Son Named for parternal grandfather
Second Son Named for maternal grandfather
Third Son Named after father or father's paternal grandfather
Fourth Son Named for father's oldest brother or father's maternal grandfather
Fifth Son named for mother's eldest brother of father's maternal grandfather
Sixth Son Named for father's second oldest brother or mother's maternal grandfather
First Daughter Named after maternal grandmother
Second Daughter Named after paternal grandmother
Third Daughter Named after mother or mother's maternal grandmother
Fourth Daughter Named after mother's oldest sister, or mother's paternal grandmother
Fifth Daughter Named after father's eldest sister, or father's maternal grandmother
Sixth Daughter Named after mother's second oldest sister or father's paternal grandmother

One other common practice was to name a child after a child who had died within the family.