Someone was mentioning that one of his forebears (I think from Amlwch) was
known by a Christian name, a letter, then a surname and commented on how
unusual this was.
I have noticed that when our American friends give names of their distant
families there is often a middle initial given. The vast majority of my Welsh
ancestors only seem to have had one Christian name and I have never come
across the use of a middle initial (in my family at any rate.)
I have often wondered if once the Welsh emigrated to the States they
developed this middle initial. Was it to keep the surname of their Mothers
alive, in the case of the male side, and maybe to keep the Welsh maiden name
in the case of the females?
I hope I do not appear offensive asking this question, as I do not mean to
be, but this has puzzled me for a long time.
Can anyone out there explain the "initial phenominum" to me?
Many thanks Elsbeth