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| 'A rose by any other name would smell as sweet' |
What's in a name, you ask? Well, Shakespeare asked, and like Juliet I don't place too much importance on these things but I do find names interesting. The why behind them. China has had surnames for a long time (and interestingly between 1600-1046 BC they seemed to be matrilineal but after that became patrilineal for some reason) but the first surname recorded in Europe was in County Galway in 916. The Normans introduced surnames to England after 1066 but these names were changed or dropped. Later, Aristocracy started passing down their surnames in a family and by 1400, most people had hereditory surnames.Wives began to take their husbands names and King Henry VII (1491-1547) ordered children take their father's surnames. (More info on surnames here).
However, it is the middle name I am interested in. Or the family middle name. My father's family had a middle name you pass down. This is a patronymic name. Ours is Beresford. This is an old English name, that fell out of favour in the 1950s but really had it's heyday the century before that. I found it so weird as a kid. When my father explained it could be shortened to 'Berry', I would melt in mirth.
There have been a LOT of Lord Beresfords. Common practice, if you had an illegitimate child was to put the father's name as the middle name, as a way of letting the child know who the father is or more likely, letting the father know it was his child. It's called a putative middle name.
I love the idea that sometime back in history, a Lord Beresford got a scullery maid pregnant and she decided to get what her child rightfully deserved. She'd thurst their child on the coattails of his aristocracy by giving the child his surname, even if it wasn't as a surname. I love even more that everyone that came after wanted a bit of that aristocratic ancestory gold dust until it dissolved into history and no one knew why or cared how the name came to pass.
Dad didn't know. It was just the middle name of his father and his father's father and lots of other boys in the family.
We have continued the tradition. I don't really know why. Tradition is illogicial. Peer pressure from dead people, as they say. I prefer to think of it as a link to scandal and a feisty, determined mother wanting only the best for her child but who knows? Maybe someone a few centuries back just really liked the name and the other parent said 'No way are we calling our baby Berry! It can be a middle name!'
Do you have a patronymic name in your family? Is it a really weird name?
(Note, very excited I've grown not ONE but TWO roses!)
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...our grandson is a medic in the US Army. He had words with a fellow soldier who said that he would him, our grandson said, be sure you spell my surname with two Es!
ReplyDeleteInteresting thank you!
ReplyDeletegreat to know..... thank you for sharing
ReplyDeleteMy mum's mother has quite a family history, mostly Scottish and Irish going through Robert the Bruce, various clan leaders, through the intermarrying of the Scots with the vikings and back to Israel in the 1st century, at least that's what I've discovered in my 15 years of family research. It all can be so mind blowing. I quite often get people spelling my first name all sorts of different ways.
ReplyDeleteWow. I would have thought Amy was an easy first name to get a handle on! How fascinating re the Vikings! Tho I read somewhere that almost all caucasians have some Viking in them if you go back far enough. Those Vikings travelled the world!
DeleteWhat a fascinating post, Lydia and I enjoyed reading your take on Family History and names. My ex-husband's family started a middle name tradition for girls although not very far back in time. Each girl born in the family has 'Clare' as their middle name probably going back to their Irish roots. I must try to find out more. My daughter is therefore, Rachel Clare. I'm Anglo/Saxon stock although I'd love to have my DNA tested to find out more. I've just discovered I have some Aboriginal lines as well. It is a fascinating subject, that's for sure and probably addictive. #wwwhimsy
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the roses! Middle names. I am the only one in my immediate family with one. My Dad had none, my Mum the same and my brother. This topic has come in for quite a bit of discussion after Dad died. Reasons for him not wanting anyone to bear his first name as a second (his family issues) were ignored by his son (who regrets not middle name) and his grandson who named his son similarly. Denyse
ReplyDeleteI love reading this and had a few chuckle Lydia. We have a middle name in Dad's family that has passed down since the first child in 1840. The middle name is Lloyd and it is the maiden name of Dad's great grandmother. They had a large family and all their children had large families, and mostly sons. Each of them had the middle name of Lloyd, even a few of the girls. My Dad and his brothers all carried the Lloyd name. It died out with Dad's generation, though I'm fairly sure there are still a few that have it. I love naming patterns, and really enjoyed reading about yours.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting! My mother-in-law had a middle name of 'Woodbine' which was a family traditional name passed down through generations. I never understood it but I think you might have just explained it to me!
ReplyDeleteThis was so interesting Lydia! I didn't think we had a middle name practice but then realised that my middle name is Anne (I'm the eldest), my eldest daughter's middle name is Anne and she gave Anne to her daughter as a middle name - so there you go I do have a pattern but it's on the mother's side!! Having three daughters sort of negated any patronymic names for us. #wwwhimsy
ReplyDeleteThat's absolutely fascinating. I didn't know that surnames came about so (relatively) late in the game and I always wondered how those patronymic middle names began and now I know!
ReplyDeleteI had never heard of patronymic middle names. My maiden name was Rose. My daughter's middle name is Rose, and her daughter (my granddaughter) has a middle name of Rose. I do hope they continue it. I had thought my dad's side had a habit of using first names as middle names for the next child. But, in looking at my ancestry, I'm discovering that to be true only in the last three or four generations. Thanks for all the information!
ReplyDeletehttps://marshainthemiddle.com/
This is a really interesting article. I learned a lot. No odd names here. Although I don't know how far back, but when several greats ago when my greats+++ grandparents on my dad's side, the husband took his new wife's last name instead of the other way around.
ReplyDeleteVisiting today from SSPS 302 #54,55&56
What nationality was he? Or do you know the reason why? That's very interesting....I bet there's a good story there!
DeleteVery interesting, Lydia. We do not have a patronymic name in my family, but often our middle names come from someone in the family. Mine is not, but I did pass my middle name, Lynne, on to one of my daughters, and another daughter passed it on to one my granddaughters. So we have a Christie Lynne, a Jessica Lynne, and a Tessa Lynne.
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