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Naming Practices
Hi Everyone,
I'm wondering if anyone might now the answer to this question. Here is the background.
I'm researching the surname Guenther. I've discovered that my 4x great grandfather's name is Peter Guenther. He married a woman by the name of M. Elis. Theisinger. I've only found it abbreviated but I'm assuming it is Maria Elisabetha or something similar.
When I typed in the last name Theisinger with Peter Guenther in my familysearch.org search engine a marriage record came up in the town that I know my family have been a resident of for generations around the time that would make sense. However, the man's name is Jean-Pierre Guenther. I'm wondering how come Jean-Pierre was in Germany around the late 1700s/early 1800s. Having a nickname of Peter would make sense which is what is listed on all of his children's baptismal records.
Has anyone come across a similar situation? Would that make sense that I'm looking at my 4x great grandfather and he just went by Peter for everything else?
Any suggestions would be great.
--Michelle
Views: 333
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Kate Wagner on
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Parts of Germany were actually in what would have been France n the 18th century, hence, French names which became Germanicized. Family Search fails to make this distinction. I've see this quite often in my Germanic lines where the families resided in what is now Gemany but in the 18th century was Alsace-Lorraine. Makes total sense.
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Permalink Reply by Michelle Gimelberg on
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it was just odd to see. I found his birth record tonight and he is listed as Peter. It really is this one document that has his name a Jean-Pierre and it totally through me off. I'm glad someone else has seen it. As for the location, I'm not 100% if it would have been France (Wolfstein, Germany/Rhineland area) but at that time, you never know how deep French influences went. Thanks for the information.
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From what I can tell, Wolfstein was part of the district of Kusel which borders Sank Wendel, which was definitely part of Alsace and French.
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Permalink Reply by Gail Korszniak Kreyns on
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It makes sense to me, Peter being the German form of Pierre. I notice quite often that the Germans are called by their second name rather than their first name. In any case, at the time your ancestors married in 1813, Wolfstein was still under French rule, having been taken over by French Revolutionary troops in 1801, I think (until 1814 when it became part of Bavaria), thus the name Jean-Pierre on records makes sense. By the way, according to two indexes on FamilySearch.org, his wife's name was Marie Elisabethe (their marriage index, and the index for the birth/baptism of their daughter Catherine Charlotte), which also might be the French version of the name.
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The first name is typically the saint name and as you noticed the second name is the personal name of the child. So, your Jean-Pierre would be John Peter. There are a number of good references online for the naming conventions which taken further, can assist you in determining birth order as well as whether a child was born into one family or another.
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What online references would you recommend? Guenther is a very common last name and I'm getting to the point where I'm not sure if I'm in the correct family or not.
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http://www.kerchner.com/germname.htm
This is the one I use.
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Permalink Reply by Paul Hart on
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You could also sign up for one of the German courses here. I took "Introduction to German Research for North Americans" which helped with names. There is also "German: Naming Practices", but that is an advanced class and you may have to "work up to it".
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I've found that one really does not have to pay for these courses. The information is readily available from other sources to anyone with a desire to learn.
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Sure, and I taught myself how to do IT. However I did not get good at it, nor did I get a job at it, until I studied and got Microsoft Certified. Same idea here.
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I didn't teach myself to do genealogy. I've done probate and real estate law for about 30+ years so it was easy to adapt the skills and knowledge. I wasn't "self-taught." It was simply a matter of using existing skills and education. Much of it is applying logic. :) Do you have a genealogical service?
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Sorry, I took a little vacation there. Do you mean a business? No.
I have a few projects that I am working on myself (including a book), so that keeps me busy.
I am willing to do source research. I speak German and can read transcribe/translate German script. However, I have a full time job and with my other projects, I am not willing to do it free. I have noticed many people are willing to use my research, but as soon as I ask for a little money, they shy away.
I do volunteer at the Kaiserslautern FHL once or twice a month as their "go to guy for German Genealogy". -
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