Surnames meanings

You've probably guessed by now that surnames were created to help sort out all those folks named Mike in great great grandma's village. But, did you know that the creation of surnames was based on four general characteristics that include:

Naming Patterns

In many societies and communities, the choice of names for children was determined by local or cultural custom. Through the study of naming patterns, a genealogist may establish parentage for a child, or even hypothesize the existence of unknown children.

This is especially true of societies where naming patterns were followed consistently and with few exceptions. Researchers of the early Dutch families of New York, for example, have been aided by the stringent naming pattern followed by Dutch parents. First and second sons were usually named for paternal and maternal grandfathers, and daughters for their grandmothers. With the births of succeeding children, the names of great-grandparents would often be used, though variations may be expected to arise. Newborns in most cases would be named for a close relative or friend of the family.

Even in families or communities which did not follow stringent patterns, other naming practices may be discovered—such as using the mother's surname before marriage as a child's given or middle name, or repeating one or more given names each generation—which may prove useful to the genealogist.

Use of a naming pattern should not be assumed except in a community where several instances of the pattern have been, or may be, documented.

Name Variations

Name variations exist in multiple cultures and in many records of interest to genealogists.

Spelling variations exist primarily because standardized spelling was not common until the 19th century, and because the people recording the data may not have known the correct or standardized spelling.

Some name variations are due to cultural standards or practices.

Patronymics

Patronymics is the practice of creating last names from the name of one's father. For example, Robert, John's son, would become Robert Johnson. Robert Johnson's son Neil would become Neil Robertson.

Patronymic naming systems were common in many countries, lasting until the late nineteenth century in the Scandinavian countries and in Wales. Patronymic names are still used in Iceland.

Soundex

Eventually in your research you will need to become with the Soundex Code and how to use it to find ancestors with the same surname that has been spelled or mis-spelled in a variety of ways. (i.e. Smith, Smyth, Smythe, etc.)

Click on this link to learn about this important research tool:

Soundex Code guide

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