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ArchivesWhy so many JOHANNs in the Bach family?
A musician asked me this: Why were all brothers of J.S. Bach also called Johann? Was that a common thing to do in those days? Or was it just a specific family tradition?
I know his father went by Johann, and he had at least one cousin by that name, so maybe his uncle (and his grandfather) was also Johann.
Any clues?
I know his father went by Johann, and he had at least one cousin by that name, so maybe his uncle (and his grandfather) was also Johann.
Any clues?
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Replies
It was not completely unusual among some European families that used two or three names or a compound name to use the same "filler" name as familiar tradition.
In English the first name is usually the main name, but this use is not universal.
In French, the concept of "middle name" is inexistant as in many languages (Spanish, e.g.). In case of several names, it can be a compound name or a set of names, where the main name is usually the first, but not necessarily: Aurore Dupin, aka George Sand (in fact, Amandine Aurore Lucile Dupin).
In German the use of the second name as main name was usual: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (in fact, Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgang Theophilus Mozart), Johann Christoph Friedrich Schiller, Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht, Wilhelm Richard Wagner...
So Bach brothers probably were known by their second name (Rudolph, Sebastian, Christoph...).
In English the first name is usually the main name, but this use is not universal.
In French, the concept of "middle name" is inexistant as in many languages (Spanish, e.g.). In case of several names, it can be a compound name or a set of names, where the main name is usually the first, but not necessarily: Aurore Dupin, aka George Sand (in fact, Amandine Aurore Lucile Dupin).
In German the use of the second name as main name was usual: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (in fact, Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgang Theophilus Mozart), Johann Christoph Friedrich Schiller, Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht, Wilhelm Richard Wagner...
So Bach brothers probably were known by their second name (Rudolph, Sebastian, Christoph...).
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In some parts of India (like Bengal), people usually go by a name other than their formal name. I know a person whose name is Abul K. Azad (never asked him what the K. was), but he usually signs off as Ratan except in official setting. A lady called Aparimita Lahiri introduces herself as Sona.
Is this common elsewhere: this official/personal distinction in usage of names?
In Bengal, actually, things can be more complex in a family setting: almost everyone calls everyone close by pet names or relationship terms. My father, my mother, my father's sister, my sister, my cousin, and my late grandmother all call(ed) me differently. That is a different phenomenon, though one that I haven't seen (in this magnitude) commonly outside this culture either.
Is this common elsewhere: this official/personal distinction in usage of names?
In Bengal, actually, things can be more complex in a family setting: almost everyone calls everyone close by pet names or relationship terms. My father, my mother, my father's sister, my sister, my cousin, and my late grandmother all call(ed) me differently. That is a different phenomenon, though one that I haven't seen (in this magnitude) commonly outside this culture either.
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My husband was at university in England once with a man from Shanghai - since he wrote his surname first and then his given name, which confused the Brits, he was known interchangeably as Chun Hua and Hua Chun. This bothered him not at all, because in his family (or perhaps his country - I could never quite nail him down on that!) the same thing happened as in yours: the name he was called depended on who was doing the calling.
China is so vast that I wouldn't care to generalise about it, but if you don't mind anecdotal evidence ...
China is so vast that I wouldn't care to generalise about it, but if you don't mind anecdotal evidence ...
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I'm not sure about the Bach family in particular, but if you consider the royal family of Austria, all of the women had "Maria" in their first name although the only two I can think of off the top of my head are Maria Teresa and Maria Antonia (Marie Antoinette).
My guess is that as they were Catholic (the Hapsburgs and the Bachs), the tradition of the time was to name each child with a major Biblical name (ie Johann or Maria) and then call them by their second name. I guess it would be similar to the Catholic tradition of taking a saint's name at the first communion, but back then the parents did it for them and put it at the beginning of the name, rather than the end.
Anyways, like I said, I don't know for sure but that is my educated assumption.
My guess is that as they were Catholic (the Hapsburgs and the Bachs), the tradition of the time was to name each child with a major Biblical name (ie Johann or Maria) and then call them by their second name. I guess it would be similar to the Catholic tradition of taking a saint's name at the first communion, but back then the parents did it for them and put it at the beginning of the name, rather than the end.
Anyways, like I said, I don't know for sure but that is my educated assumption.
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