Two elder siblings were given middle names honoring my mom's favorite aunt and my mom's sister. The rest of us, no family connection in our names.

Up to my parent's generation, it was common to see names repeat themselves in the family tree -- sons named for fathers or uncles, daughters named for aunts or grandmothers. Naming a daughter after her own mother ... I wonder why that was less common than a son being a "(Dad) Junior."

My MIL screwed up when she named my husband after two grandfathers and the middle name is the only one he uses but the first name always is there in documents as his real name.

...My maternal side had Emmaline as the girls' names from the 1700's to the very early 20th. My mother and three grandmothers before had the same lovely biblical name. She changed the chain and gave me a name I hate. I would have been happy with Emmaline or the other one.

My mother could not come up with a name for me. After about five days my aunt burst into my mother's hospital room, mentioning a famous French-Canadian singer had a daughter and named her N------. My mother said, that's it; I love that name. It was a very unusual name when I was growing up. I love the name too. So, no, not named for someone, but someone sparked the name for my mother.

No, not really. However, i suspect that my middle name is my mother’s good friend’s name. I personally did not care for the woman and my mother says no, but the coincidence is too great.

Daisy, you now have me trying to remember all rock songs with a womans name in the title. Roxanne?

My mother said she had a pretty name all picked out for me, but while she was sleeping her MIL put my name on the form. A first name I’ve never really cared for, I don’t know where it came from (although, if we were Catholic it would be appropriate, given what she is the patron saint of, but she would not have been thinking in that way), and a middle name for my grandmother’s daughter and, I think, mother. I like the name now, but for others, not for myself.

Floral, I read or heard that British royalty no longer uses the name John, because those were named John had bad luck, bad health, or otherwise bad things happen. Is it true?

My mother named me after her grandmother and her favorite aunt. She named my older sister after two radio personalities she listened to before TV came along. One of them became very famous and had her own TV show later. I didn't like my name very well when I was growing up, but now I realize I was lucky. I dislike both of my sister's names, and I'm glad I was born later and escaped them !

Here's the video I was referring to:

It was actually the first King John of England, who lived from 1166 to 1216 AD. Thanks for the correction, Floral_UK. I'm not sure why I remembered it as John II. Since King John was unpopular (or perhaps considered evil), there was never another King John, but I was unaware of that before.

My parents expected me to be a boy and were unprepared. So they ended up using the name of a movie that had just come out. I think that's why there were always two or three girls with my name in all of my classes. BTW, it was probably Doris Day's worst movie. She plays a woman whose husband is trying to murder her. I read that it was so stressful to make that she ended up in the hospital with a nervous breakdown. I don't think my parents ever saw the movie.

I have always been called by my middle name, but my first name is the same as my mother’s. She also was called by her middle name. I always swore I would never do that to my children as it’s too complicated in adult life.

Only if I'd been male, Sean Glen (my father's youngest brother, who ended up being my favorite uncle).

I was born prematurely, and my parents had not yet agreed on a name for a girl. My father wanted to name me after Princess Grace, but my mother nixed that. They named me after both of my grandmothers.

OutsidePlaying -- Yes, it's a real pain to answer to a name for 65 years, then, with Medicare, have to learn to listen for your first name. At 80, I seem to have 'graduated' to where the nurses in the cancer center have started calling me "Mrs. (Husband's Surname)". All things old are new again!

My middle name is the same as my mother's and her mother and grandmother and 2 other greats. It's okay but the first name is lovely and that's the one she changed. There was a movie star of that time that may have influenced her when she picked MY name. My mother's (and the rest) is biblical and it has become quite popular now.

I have no where the first name came from

My first middle name is Marie. (of course, even most boys have Marie in their middle name somewhere) My second middle name is the feminine version of my oldest brother’s name.

He passed when he was six. That was six years before I was born.

So yes, I’m named after someone very special.

Jupidupi, if you are talking about Midnight Lace (in which Rex Harrison is trying to murder Doris Day), then I do not consider this one of Doris's worst movies - it is instead one of my favorites.

The story goes that my father selected the names Stephanie and Penelope for me, but my cousins who were close with my mother and father cried that they did not like these names and lobbied for L so here I am. I like the name and although it was a very popular name at the time, I have known only a handful. I think Stephanie would have suited me well too.

"I'm named after a great-aunt, but my parents had no idea how to spell it (unusual Arabic name),....In my teens, there was a song with my name that went on to become a rock anthem."

Wow, this sure is an attention-getting, likely unanswerable (without help) clue.

Oh, as for me- I don't know who I was named after. No one ever mentioned it and it never occurred to me to ask.

Later edit - I didn't look to see if someone else had guessed this, but maybe Layla/Laila?

"England has never had a second King John."

I may be wrong and would like to be corrected if so, but I think a friend once told me that for himself and other English school children, part of learning their national history included comprehensive review of past monarchs. It's a quaint and maybe a past practice no longer pursued.

As the court language and monarchs in England were French for many years after the Norman Conquest, I believe it's fair to say that John was really "Jean". I'm not sure why but in French he was referred to as Jean Sans Terre, meaning, John without land.

Daisy, I am erasing my answer.

My mother was pregnant when the first Bond girl, who was married to Tyrone Power, appeared in Casino Royale. Her 'stage' surname sounded similar to our surname, so we share the same given name, not in homage to the actress technically, but because my mother thought her given and surname sounded nice together.

I was named after my paternal grandmother, but with a different non-standard spelling that I've been explaining my entire life.

My middle name is the same as my mother's, and is the female version of her father's name. I didn't like my middle name while growing up, because it was similar to a cartoon character's name, but I love it now.

My family is from Sicily so its custom to name the 1st son after the fathers father. There were 5 boys in my dads family and all their 1st borns were sons, so all were named Francesco. Daugters were to be named after a grandmother, and both my grandmothers had the same name, so that became my older sisters name. Second son would be named after my mothers father, but since my grandfather and my dad had the same name, they couldn’t name him that. My three oldest siblings were born in Sicily and have no middle names. My sister and I were born in Canada and have Sicilian names and middle names. We are not named after anyone, but there is an all girls school in San Cataldo that has the same name as me.

No, quite the contrary. my mother was the oldest daughter, so she was named after both her grandmothers and disliked her name. Her mother’s parents were German and English. she decided her children would have names that matched our Irish last name, though my older sister was named after the grandmothers (Irish mame as first name) and my brother was given our father’s first name and called by his middle name, which was the name of Ireland’s greatest king. My children have middle names that honor family members…my sister, husband, and mother.

My first name is a compromise because my father refused to have me named Penelope as my mother wanted so she could call me Penny. It was an amazingly popular name in the south were we mostly lived and every class I was in had several. My middle name was the name of a child who was killed in my Paternal grandparents yard when she was struck by a Pecan tree limb while playing under the tree at the age of three. Well there is tragedy for you. My grandmother had pushed for this name with my older sister but my mother resisted. It is a name I dislike. At least it is a middle name. Why this grandmother would care I cant say as she was not particularly fond of children and very unfond of me.

When I only had two nephews they both had the same name. A particularly to me unattractive name that my sister in law had decided on when she was going through what turned out to be a false pregnancy. When my oldest sister all unknowingly chose the same name for her actual son my SIL had a fit about it and named her son the same thing when he was born less than a year later. People.

I have a feminine version of my paternal grandfather's name. My sister was named after my maternal grandmother. My brother was named after the patron saint of difficult pregnancies, since my mother had to stay in bed the last month of her pregnancy.

for the 13th apostle.

"There were 5 boys in my dads family and all their 1st borns were sons, so all were named Francesco."

That's curious. Not that different from what George Foreman did, in naming all five of his sons George Foreman. Except he's not from Sicily.

Lars, I've never seen Midnight Lace, although being named Midnight or Lace would be kind of cool. I was talking about the Doris Day movie Julie. Even with Louis Jourdan, it's still pretty awful. Whenever I meet a woman around my age named Julie, I ask if she was born in 1956. I think there must have been a big ad campaign, because there are a lot of us.

I am named for my Dad's favorite pub/his local. I share a name with the pub owner/the pub.

I was named for my paternal great-grandmother, whom my father had been close to (she passed away when he was about 8). My first name (which I don't really think suits me, and reflects my mother's input) only starts with the same sound as hers; we share the second name. My mother often told me that she wanted to name me Marie Elena - which would have been worse, IMO! As I learned more about my great-grandmother's life, I felt honored to be named for her.

My brother was also named for someone in a roundabout way - his middle name is the sound of the initial of my father's original last name (my dad also kept that initial as his middle "name").

My late ex-husband was descended from one of the soldiers who accompanied Col. Edw. Cornwallis to found Halifax Nova Scotia. Although he didn't remain in that colony (moving steadily southward through the years), he named his first son born in North America for Cornwallis, and that tradition carried on through several generations (of giving one son a middle name of Cornwallis).

No, but my grandson was just named after HIS great grandfather(middle name) and his great, great grandfather first name), Quite a tribute, since my daughter did not know either of them.

My first name is Julia, and I was named for my mother, whose first name was Julia. Her middle name was Elizabeth, and my sister was given Elizabeth, as her middle name.

Yes and no. Our paternal family home, which is in the Bavarian part of Germany, has carved above it’s main entrance “Josef and Maria ***** 1701”. The year my great+ grandparents were married. And so, with every generation since, it has been my family’s tradition to give one son and daughter those names. In the Twenties, the then two younger brothers emigrated here to the States. The boys’ name eventually changed to “Joseph” and the girls’ to “Marie”. My oldest brother is Joseph and my middle name is Marie.
My mother’s family is Scottish, and more of my siblings have her family’s names.

No, not in that way. My mom wanted the girls names to have a first letter that was similar in sound to our last name. ie: John Jones. Or.....Patty Powder.

No, all three of us were named with names our parents liked, and after no one. First names that is. My sister's middle name is my mothers eldest sister, my brothers middle name my mothers brother. My middle name? At least it's unisex, since I'm female and was given the name of one of my dad's navy buddies.....;0)

re the video "Descended from Nobility" Why is King John taken as the 'head' of the tree? Why not take it back to his Father Henry II, then back to William the Conqueror then through the Norman Vikings and so on to the even dimmer past eventually reaching Adam and Eve?

Yes Elmer, John 'sans terre' or 'lackland' as he was know got the name because as a Norman king he fought fruitless battles in Normandy/France hoping to regain possessions acquired by Henry II (remember the movie The Lion in Winter?) He is better known for the Magna Carta and losing the crown jewels in The Wash (boggy tidal land in East Anglia).

And you are right we, in England, used to be taught 'early history' using the reigns of kings or the 'Tudors' etc as a peg onto which the period could be hung. Much as you might be taught US history using Presidents in the same way.

What Lira is saying about the naming is similar to what the Sephardic Jews do. So all the Francescos are cousins, not brothers ( like George Foreman)

I have a friend who has about 4 granddaughters with her name. ( They are all cousins, so some might have the exact same first and last name, and some have a different last name).

First born son is after father's father; first born daughter is after mother's mother--- second born son would be after mother's father and so on. I am not sure what happens after that.

Sephardic Jews name after the living.

Ashkenazi Jews name after the deceased.

It is not religious law but custom.

My grandparents passed before my parents met. My sister is named for both mothers and I am named for both fathers. Neither of us has the exact name of our grandparents in English, but our Hebrew names are exact ( or feminine of them in my case).

yes and no. First Canadian born in our family (I was made in The Netherlands but my parents moved to Canada when mom was 4-5 months pregnant with me) so they wanted "Canadian" names. I was named after Debbie Reynolds (mom changed the spelling of my name because EVERY baby born in the late 50's and early 60's was named after her) and another actress.

OT about godparents: It took me some time to understand the christening records of my French Protestant ancestors. Godparents were themselves children, nominated to the role by adults. I believe this was in hope the godparents would survive long enough to serve. Fewer people survived long in the 1700's.

I am 'Sue" because it's a shortened form of the name traditionally given to a first daughter, originating even earlier, before the family emigrated from Switzerland -- or perhaps parts of Switzerland became France in that contested region.

Salvona, thank you for the explanation about naming conventions between Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jews. How cool.

PS My paternal grandmother was an Iraqi Jew. She converted, though.

"Much as you might be taught US history using Presidents in the same way."

Judging from my own experiences decades ago (I'm now retired), I'd say "Not exactly". US history I was exposed to up through the secondary level is pretty fluffy and maybe almost like a TV newscast - superficial coverage of select topics, little detail. And it was sterilized - controversial and uncomplimentary topics and incidents, other than slavery, were either whitewashed or omitted. I think that's getting better now. And, from descriptions I heard, history instruction in your country has an element of cultural familiarization and indoctrination to it, equally appropriate for those from families long present there and others of more recent immigration. I think that attitude and intent is lacking here.

Savona--that sounds like what the Irish used to do--not so much any more.

• First son usually named for the father's father
• Second son usually named for the mother's father
• Third son usually named for the father
• Fourth son usually named for the father's eldest brother
• Fifth son usually named for the mother's eldest brother
• First daughter usually named for the mother's mother
• Second daughter usually named for the father's mother
• Third daughter usually named for the mother
• Fourth daughter usually named for the mother's eldest sister
• Fifth daughter usually named for the father's eldest sister.

In Germany a person was given two names, such as Peter Joseph. The second (or what we call a middle name) was the name they were called (i.e. Joseph). in doing genealogy on my German family it was confusing. This tradition was present in those that immigated to the US (1850s) and was often continued in the next generation, but then died out. So in looking at records it was confusing unless you knew if they were using the tradition.

I am a volunteer genealogist at our local historical society. Generations back it was very common to give your many children the same first name. Johan Matthew, Johan David, Johan Christopher, etc. Girls were often Anna Barbara, Anna Maria, Anna Catherine, etc. While at the time they most likely were called by the middle name, they would use their ”real” for official documents. This makes genealogy research challenging because of these options! Mary Margaret Shaffer could be known as Polly. You need to approach it with an open mind!

Nope, but it is a liquor. My middle name is different; not the usual "Lynn" that most people use.

My mom had a baby race for the name Heather ;^) She won. They were cousins and had the same due date. I also have my Great Grandmother's middle name, my grandmother's middle name, and my mom's middle name.....my daughter has the same name too.

All of my sisters and I have Irish names, I’m the lukki one though, I’m named after my great grandfalther (girls version of his first name) and my middle name is the same as my dad’s.

ETA: of course they are only important to me, but my Great Grandfather was very popular in the little town we’re from. He was endearingly known as Doc because he was the local vet of sorts. An uncle went to do our geneology in that town. He found a few people who knew him when they were kids.

Not someone, but something. My dad had s ski boat and he named it the Donna Mae. Mom's first two children were my brothers and when I came along, they named me, you guessed it, Donna Mae!

“The business of life is the acquisition of memories. In the end that's all there is.” ― Carson of Downton Abbey.

I think I'm going to start writing down some of the things my grandparents and parents said--so I don't forget.