Another ancient project of a sailboat entered our lives recently and we are facing the big question.\u00a0 Not, \u201cDid you notice all those holes in the sails?\u2019 or, “Why doesn\u2019t the engine start?\u201d or even, \u201cWhy is the water coming in faster than we can pump it out?\u201d\u00a0 No, the big question is, \u201cWhat should we name her?\u201d<\/p>\n
We humans like to name things.\u00a0 We name things to help us to understand how the rest of the natural order fits together.\u00a0 We name things to honor people we have known and people we admire.\u00a0 We name inanimate objects and imbue them with personality.\u00a0 Many a GPS or an automobile has a name. My GPS has an x-rated name and would someone please tell her I\u2019m not going over the George Washington Bridge, so she can stop trying.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In addition to the GPS I have named two children, 8 or 9 cats, 3 or 4 boats, a host of small mammals, most now buried in the backyard, and the odd goldfish or two.<\/p>\n
All of which brings me to the subject of names and naming conventions. I greatly enjoy just looking at the given names in my database.<\/p>\n
I love the virtue names.\u00a0 In my database I have Mercy, Patience, Grace, Thankful, Prudence, and Temperance.\u00a0 All the virtue names are female; make what you want out of that.<\/p>\n
I love the names that have gone out of fashion.\u00a0 In my database I find Americ,<\/p>\n
Homera, Erastus, Jabez, Hepzibah, Asimuth, Archeleus, Mehitable, Shubael, and Zilpha and I love the ones that have returned, Bethany, Ethan, Samantha, and the like.<\/p>\n
As a genealogist it is useful to be aware of naming conventions used by different groups. There are as many naming conventions as there are identifiable groups of humans.\u00a0 Here are a few.<\/p>\n
The general naming conventions among English and Irish is:<\/p>\n
First son\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 after the father\u2019s father<\/p>\n
Second son\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 after the mother\u2019s father<\/p>\n
Third son\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 after the father<\/p>\n
Fourth son\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 after the father\u2019s eldest brother<\/p>\n
Fifth son\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 after the mother\u2019s eldest brother<\/p>\n
First daughter\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 after the mother\u2019s mother<\/p>\n
Second daughter\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 after the father\u2019s mother<\/p>\n
Third daughter\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 after the mother<\/p>\n
Fourth daughter\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 after the mother\u2019s eldest sister<\/p>\n
Fifth daughter\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 after the father\u2019s eldest daughter<\/p>\n
Scottish naming conventions are slightly different, but follow the same theme of grandparents, parents and parent\u2019s siblings.<\/p>\n
Most Jewish people are named after dead relatives or occasionally friends.\u00a0 Often the name of a recently deceased relative is used to name children who are born shortly after the death.\u00a0 In my generation in my family there are four of us named after an uncle who died too young and was much beloved.<\/p>\n
Some Asian countries have very strict naming conventions.\u00a0 I am told that Chinese names will allow you to puzzle out a person\u2019s place in the family genealogy<\/p>\n
I\u2019m sure there are many other naming conventions of which I am unaware.<\/p>\n
Then what am I to make of those odd names in my database?<\/p>\n
By far the oddest I have come across is the first name Ai. There are several hundred people with the first name Ai in the 1850 and 1860 censuses.\u00a0 Most of the last names of these people are of English sounding origins.\u00a0 A quick look at naming books and such list the name as a Japanese name meaning love.\u00a0 How did this name find its way into my Blood family?<\/p>\n
And what of the foreign names?\u00a0 Rueta and Tavita found their way into my database thanks to an ancestor who was a missionary in Fiji.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know about Fernando.\u00a0 Undoubtedly, there are some Spanish or Portuguese ancestors to look for.<\/p>\n
I could go on and on.\u00a0 Every given name raises the question of why it was chosen.<\/p>\n
And the sailboat?\u00a0 I suggest, Jessie Martin<\/em>; if you read my last post you know why.\u00a0 My husband reminds me that the Jessie Martin<\/em> sank, twice.\u00a0 He suggests we name her after a favorite cat.\u00a0 I remind him that the cat died, only once. The former owner named her Blue Skies<\/em>.\u00a0 Nice name, don’t you think, already painted right there on the stern.\u00a0 Blue Skies<\/em> it is.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Another ancient project of a sailboat entered our lives recently and we are facing the big question.\u00a0 Not, \u201cDid you notice all those holes in the sails?\u2019 or, “Why doesn\u2019t the engine start?\u201d or even, \u201cWhy is the water coming …<\/p>\n