It's All in the Name...

How First Names Hold Clues to Your Family’s Past

Naming can reveal more than you think.

Naming patterns can reveal more than you think, especially when tradition, migration, and a touch of mystery are involved.

The top baby names in Australia for 2024 were:

Girls

• Charlotte

• Amelia

• Isla

• Mia

• Olivia

• Ava

Boys

• Oliver

• Noah

• Luca

• Leo

• Jack

(Source: BabyCenter Australia – Top Baby Names 2024)

First names tend to follow cultural and social trends. When researching your family history, you’ll often notice names rise in popularity due to notable figures of the time such as royalty and political leaders in earlier centuries, while in the 20th century onward, the impact of film and television stars has become increasingly significant, with names of popular actors and actresses emerging at the top of name lists.

Family traditions also play a major role and can provide rich insights into your ancestry. A common practice is naming children after relatives. In my own tree, there are three generations of Georges in a row. When the name was no longer popular, it dropped from first place, and it became a middle name in the next two generations. Another useful pattern is using the mother’s maiden name as a middle name or a first; these details can offer valuable clues in your research.

If your ancestry is Scottish or Irish, you might come across a traditional naming pattern used during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, which began to decline by the late 1800s.

Sons:

• First son: Named after his paternal grandfather

• Second son: Named after his maternal grandfather

• Third son: Named after his father

• Later sons: Often named after great-grandfathers, uncles, or other male relatives

Daughters:

• First daughter: Named after her maternal grandmother

• Second daughter: Named after her paternal grandmother

• Third daughter: Named after her mother

• Later daughters: Often named after great-grandmothers, aunts, or other female relatives

This can be a useful tool when trying to guess an ancestor’s name based on their children. Of course, it’s not foolproof, not all families followed the pattern (especially if there were family disagreements), and it can create confusion. For example, if all eight sons of a man named William decide to name their first son after him, you’ll end up with a town full of Williams, all born around the same time!

In some German-speaking regions, it was common for every child to have the same first name (often a saint’s name), and they were known by their middle name in daily life. A typical family might consist of siblings such as Georg Michael, Georg Jacob, and Georg Johann.

After migration, changes to names were common for a variety of reasons. Some were anglicised for ease of pronunciation—names like Jan, Hanna, Ivan, Hans, Jean, Johanne, and Juan all became John. Others changed surnames for political or personal reasons.

And finally, don’t underestimate the power of a nickname. I once spent ten years trying to locate official records for Aunt Grace, only to discover her real name was Lillian, which she disliked, so she used her middle name instead. Some nicknames are familiar (Liz for Elizabeth, Dick for Richard), others can be surprising. For instance, Mary might go by Molly or Polly, and Margaret could become Peggy. Ancestry has a helpful nickname guide (nicknames) if you run into puzzling names.