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Ignatius, anyone? How about Clotilde?

One of the best aspects of genealogy research, for me at least, is learning some of the names my ancestors saw fit to bestow upon their children. When I first started and I found my 4th g grandfather Micah and his sister Silence, I was fascinated. Now, I know that naming conventions change over time and vary greatly with geography and other factors. (I also have a pet theory about the name Silence... In my family it always seems to have been given to the 11th or 12th child, so I believe that it was wishful thinking.)

Still, some names just jump out at you. My current favorites are:

Clotilde LeGrand (1st cousin twice removed)
Bezaleel Howe (b.1750 MA,d.1825 NY - 4th g grand uncle) (his son was also Bezaleel)
Ignatius Malloy (b. after 1845 - 1st cousin 3 times removed)

and my winner... S. Imogene Addison (b. abt 1820 - 1st cousin 4 times removed.) I think that the "S" was for Silence...

So what are your favorite names?

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Mahatabel & Augustus are two of my faves from my tree, as well as Abraham Abrahams.

Maybe Abraham know my Nathan Nathanson :)

I was tracing some Averys who moved to SW Missouri. They had a child named Ruby Rose. What a pretty name!

My 1st cousin 4 times removed has the COOLEST name.  It is Storm Harrison. Love it.
That is great - do you suppose his parents hoped he'd be a meteorologist? ;)
I have a great great Grandmother who was called "Temperance" - not so popular these days..

I also have a great-great-grandmother named Temperance - her nickname, from census records, apparently was Tempe. I love that the main character on the TV show "Bones" is named Temperance/Tempe!

Maybe we have the same ancestress? What is your Temperance's surname, and whom did she marry? Mine was born Williams, about 1798-ish, in either SC or GA, her father was Robert, and her husband was James Oliphant from SC. They lived in Louisiana, in St. Tammany/Tangipahoa parish.

 

Jeanie

It's hard to pick just one.

 

One of my favorites was a first cousin 3x removed, born in Louisiana (Florida parishes) in 1862, named "Union Belle". She went by "Belle" most of her life, from the records I see - not hard to understand why.

 

I've become very fond of the fact that two of my lines use a great-great-great-grandfather's first name as a middle name for many of the male descendents. It makes it easier to trace the line, even on the female descendents' sides. One of these, on my mom's side, was named Blansett/Blancett (with many spelling variations), and the other, on my dad's side, was named Dudley. I get the feeling that both of these men were memorable, even pivotal, characters in their times. I wish I could have more personal information about their lives.

 

I know I've seen some other interesting names that I enjoyed, but these are the first that came to mind. :)

Many of my relatives have a very useful middle name, the maiden name of their Mother.  Very helpful!  : )

 

The Storm Harrison is Storm from his Mothers maiden name.  Unusual to be used as a first name.

Mine would be Dicey.  Something about it has a spark....flair.  Dicey shows up for the first time on the 1870 census for Sauartown, North Carolina.  I thought it was unique but found it to be a name that seems pretty relevant for that time period.  Dicey Hairston found you then and haven't found you since.  Anyone knowing of Dicey Hairston, daughter of Robert and Betsey Hairston give me a shout.

Anyone else have a "Thickpenny" in their family tree!   Poor child, what were his parents thinking in the 1700s!

Most likely it was his mother's maiden name, but when your siblings are all standard English names such as William, George & Robert what must it have been like to be Thickpenny :-)

 

Hehe - thickpenny!

 

Meaning "stupid" is first recorded 1590s - so yes, even back then it would have been a curse.

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