Naming Pattern for Children in the UK

BY WENDY BLACOE

This was such an integral part of life from medieval times until the late 1800s that it is never talked about except by us genealogists. It was how our ancestors showed honour to their parents, and if a child named after the parents died, the next one was given that name again. This custom was undoubtedly held in place by community pressure as any deviation would cause comment and speculation.

Once people moved to urban centres the naming pattern usually breaks down within a generation, as it also does after emigration to far away colonies. By the late 1800’s the naming pattern was used occasionally by traditionalist families, and then mostly in the country side - the north of England and Scotland were the strongest holdouts for change of the naming pattern.

Naming Pattern: 

• 1st son named after his father’s father 
• 2nd son named after his mother’s father 
• 3rd son named after his father 
• Any further sons were named after their parents’ brothers

• 1st daughter named after her mother’s mother 
• 2nd daughter named after her father’s mother 
• 3rd daughter after her mother 
• Any further daughters were named after their parents’ sisters 

Important exceptions:

1. First son named after his mother’s father:

• could be a suspected (or known) illegitimate child (check baptism record against marriage date)
• the father already has a son named after his father from previous unknown marriage or an illegitimate son
• there is a really bad break between the son’s father and his grandfather 

2. First daughter named after her father’s mother is quite common as young married couples often lived with his parents. In this case the second daughter would get her mother’s mother’s name.

3. If you see a name that has a middle name, it is usually the surname of a person the child is named for, for example Isaac Warbrick Bamber – Isaac Warbrick was the name of the man he was named for. Individual middle names didn’t come into fashion until the very late 1800s.

Thus the naming pattern of their children can be used as a good guide to a couple’s parents’ names. It is most important that you have as complete a list of confirmed children as possible, and if you see names being repeated in a list of children, then you know that they are almost certainly the couple’s parents’ names.