Cos. Tyrone, Donegal, Londonderry & Fermanagh Ireland Genealogy Research

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Traditional Naming Patterns for Both Scots & Irish People

Written by Teena
 
Traditional Scottish and Irish people often named their children using the following patterns , yet this was not always true

1st Son named after Fathers Father
2nd Son named after Mothers Father
3rd Son named after the Father
4th Son named after Father's eldest brother
5th Son named after 2nd oldest brother or mother's eldest brother

1st Daughter named after Mothers Mother
2nd Daughter named after Fathers Mother
3rd Daughter named after Mother
4th Daughter named after Mothers eldest sister
5th Daughter named after 2nd oldest sister or Fathers eldest sister

Differences I have found
The only difference between the Scottish & Irish naming patterns was that when the Irish father remarries after his first wife died, the first daughter born to this new marriage was often named after the deceased wife, and included her whole name.
Also, If a child died young then their name was then used for the next child of the same sex, thereby keeping alive the name of the relative who they were 'named for'.
There were cases within the Irish community where a child was named after a person of esteem, eg: an Aunt, or an Uncle. They have even given their child, as a middle name, the last name of the pastor/ priest of their local Parish or an influential person in the community.
Also,parents may have used the mothers or grandmother's maiden name as a child's middle name.

eg. One of my Irish families named their son Andrew Dunn LOVE and his parents were Joseph LOVE & Margaret DUNN.