Much has been said about Scottish Naming Patterns. Generally, they used
the following tradition:
Scottish Names Bibliography is a general guide to books on Scottish
personal
and place names. It was published by the Scottish Genealogy Society in
1993
and may be purchased from them.
Scottish Forenames by Donald Whyte, published by Birlinn Ltd, 1996 (205
pages), ISBN 1 874744 72 6
Scottish Christian Names by Leslie Alan Dunkling, first published by
Johnston & Bacon (Books) Ltd., Stirling, 1978, ISBN 0 7179 4249 4.
The Surnames of Scotland by George F. Black, published by Birlinn Ltd,
1993
(838 pages), ISBN 1 874744 07 6.
Scots often named children by following a simple set of rules. Don't use
these as a firm guide (there were often variations, for all sorts of
reasons) but you may find that some of your ancestors used these too:
1st son named after father's father
2nd son named after mother's father
3rd son named after father
1st daughter named after mother's mother
2nd daughter named after father's mother
3rd daughter named after mother
The following comments are by Mark Sutherland-Fisher, a Scottish
Professional Genealogist.
He wrote:
Hi Jean,
I think someone else has already given you the basic pattern covering the
eldest three children of each sex. Remember this was primarily a Highland
naming pattern where the naming of children had greater significance,
particularly in the period prior to family and clan histories being written
down. Also remember that naming patterns could be "kicked into touch" by the
death of a child and therefore the next child of the same sex would be named
after the deceased one. Always be wary if you see what appears to be an
unusually large gap among the children in a family. Normally they were
produced every 18 months to 2 years, the poor woman often being no more than
a cross between a battery hen and a baby factory!! However if you have a
family with such a pattern but suddenly there is a four or five year gap and
then the pattern starts again, it suggests either that one or more children
have been born and died or were stillborn in the intervening period or the
father was off fighting the French which was the other major pre-occupation
of Highland men from 1750 to 1815.
When it comes to younger children, yes often the brothers or sisters of
parents or grandparents were honoured within the naming pattern, but so were
the chief/laird and his wife, the minister, doctor, great grandparents and
if the parents were middle class (the merchants and prosperous farmers along
the Moray Firth coastline) or the father was a tacksman and therefore close
relative of the Clan chief, a son might be named after the father's
commanding officer, e.g. Lt.Col. James Sutherland of Uppat, illegitimate son
of William 17th Earl of Sutherland named his son George Sackville Sutherland
after his old commander Lord George Sackville who's Adjutant he had been.
The naming pattern is a handy tool but rarely to be trusted.
Regards,
Mark,
Genealogist: Clan Sutherland
Co-Genealogist: Clan Mackenzie
Professional Genealogist specialising in the Highlands and 18th century
see my web-site:
http://www.highland-family-heritage.co.uk
----- Original Message -----
From: jean manning <musicmjm(a)bellsouth.net>
To: <SCT-INVERNESS-L(a)rootsweb.com>
Sent: Friday, March 24, 2000 4:05 AM
Subject: [SCT-INV-L] Naming Conventions