For the past 15 years since I started reconstructing the family tree, I've mumbled and grumbled about the fact that the same names were used in every family. If the Irish naming pattern were strictly adhered to, this is how children would be named.
Sons
1. The eldest son was named after the child’s paternal grandfather.
2. The second son was named after that child’s maternal grandfather.
3. The third son was named after the father.
4. The fourth son was named after the child’s eldest paternal uncle.
5. Subsequent sons were named after other paternal uncles, in order of the age of the uncles.
Daughters
1. The eldest daughter was named after the child’s maternal grandmother.
2. The second daughter was named after the child’s paternal grandmother.
3. The third daughter was named after the mother.
4. The fourth daughter was named after the child’s eldest maternal aunt.
5. Subsequent daughters were named after other maternal aunts, in order of the age of the aunts.
The family no longer follows the naming pattern although some of the same familiar names have found their way into more recent generations. My name is Mary Ann although I've only ever been called Ann. There are over a dozen women among my various levels of grandmothers, with one or both of my names, yet my parents always claimed I was not named after anyone in particular.
Among my siblings, only Thomas (Tom) was named explicitly for his paternal grandfather and great-grandfather. Maureen's second name was Rita after our mother; and Don's second name is Robert, after our father.
In the Byrne line for instance, my ggg grandfather was Arthur. Of his seven married children, all had sons named Arthur but few of his great-grandsons were named Arthur. The name has not been used in our direct family line for a couple of generations. It is still used among distant cousins.
It was the names Edward, George and Arthur that contributed to thinking/knowing that when we met the Byrne family in Ireland, that we had actually met people we are related to. Subsequent research and a DNA test proved the connection.
In the Sunderland line, it was the use of Stansfield as a forename that helped decide if I was looking at the right family. Sadly the last Stansfield passed away in 1915 but it was important in establishing the right family.
