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ArchivesRe: Assigning Given Names In Colonial America
in reply to a message by Jon Huffman
There is nothing that is 100% sure in this as parents in the colonial USA always had complete freedom to name their kids whatever they wanted.
However, in colonial New England it was fairly common for the firstborn son to be named after his father's father; the secondborn son to be named after his mother's father; the thirdborn to be named after the father; and subsequent sons to be named after the father's and mother's brothers. It was also common, however, for parents to reuse the names of older children who died young.
Of course by the early 1800s the USA was no longer "colonial America" and this custom was becoming less common. The early 19th century saw a big increase both in sons named after political and religious figures (Jefferson, Wesley, etc.) and kids given Classical Revival names like Homer and Virgil.
However, in colonial New England it was fairly common for the firstborn son to be named after his father's father; the secondborn son to be named after his mother's father; the thirdborn to be named after the father; and subsequent sons to be named after the father's and mother's brothers. It was also common, however, for parents to reuse the names of older children who died young.
Of course by the early 1800s the USA was no longer "colonial America" and this custom was becoming less common. The early 19th century saw a big increase both in sons named after political and religious figures (Jefferson, Wesley, etc.) and kids given Classical Revival names like Homer and Virgil.
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