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Ireland (Historical Counties) => Ireland => Topic started by: GAJM1 on Tuesday 28 February 17 21:30 GMT (UK)

Title: First Names Martha Matilda
Post by: GAJM1 on Tuesday 28 February 17 21:30 GMT (UK)
My great great grand mother was called the double barrel first names  Martha Matilda she was born in 1846 in Ireland the name was very rare in the area which I find strange why her parents who were very poor Roman Catholic at the time used the name Martha Matilda instead of the usual Irish names. I have done a google and it would appear that using the format Martha Matilda together was very popular in parts of the UK and perhaps the US and further afield. I would like understand why this double barrel format was popular as might help me understand how my 3rd great grand parents might have decided to use it.
Title: Re: First Names Martha Matilda
Post by: Milliepede on Tuesday 28 February 17 22:17 GMT (UK)
Can I ask what you mean by a double barrel - is it that both names began with the same letter?
Title: Re: First Names Martha Matilda
Post by: GAJM1 on Tuesday 28 February 17 22:20 GMT (UK)
Hi no its the fact that they are used together Martha the first name and Matilda the middle name I have found a good few cases online of similar format but don't see explanation why it was very popular to use both together.
Title: Re: First Names Martha Matilda
Post by: giggsycat on Tuesday 28 February 17 23:55 GMT (UK)
Hi

Why does it need an explanation? Different names are popular at different times. Perhaps they had heard the combination of names and just liked it! It's no different from someone in Wales calling their son John Joseph.

Giggsy  ;)
Title: Re: First Names Martha Matilda
Post by: Pheno on Wednesday 01 March 17 09:40 GMT (UK)
Like the others I am not really understanding what you are questioning.  Are you saying that the person was always referred to as Martha Matilda, rather than just Martha?  I would have thought that was just personal preference.  Did she have a third name?

Pheno
Title: Re: First Names Martha Matilda
Post by: GAJM1 on Wednesday 01 March 17 16:01 GMT (UK)
They are very rare names especially in Ireland so very different to using John Joseph which are very popular the format of using the names Martha Matilda not that hard to understand is what i was questioning her parents could not read or write so where not exacrly looking up baby name books.
Title: Re: First Names Martha Matilda
Post by: Pheno on Wednesday 01 March 17 16:19 GMT (UK)
I think it was probably a case of just hearing names they liked and then using them.  Where did my east end family get the name Hypatia from?

One of my grandmothers was in service as a youngster and several of her children bear the names of the upper class family she was working for e.g. Barrington.

I should think there were plenty of influences on choices of names.

Pheno
Title: Re: First Names Martha Matilda
Post by: aghadowey on Wednesday 01 March 17 20:33 GMT (UK)
Not that unusual a combination in Ireland- just go to www.familysearch.org & put 'martha matilda' in as first name and Ireland as place and see how many results come up!
Title: Re: First Names Martha Matilda
Post by: familyroutes on Thursday 02 March 17 11:11 GMT (UK)
Not that unusual a combination in Ireland- just go to www.familysearch.org & put 'martha matilda' in as first name and Ireland as place and see how many results come up!

786,582 results for Name: martha matilda, Event: Birth, Place: ireland....
Title: Re: First Names Martha Matilda
Post by: myluck! on Thursday 02 March 17 14:15 GMT (UK)
Some families once the usual relatives were honored with a namesake
relied on different reasons for the further names in their family

I have noticed that the name given can be
- the same as one of the sponsors
- the same as the saint whose feast day was around the time of the birth
- the one given by the priest or person delivering the child (word-of-mouth history)
Title: Re: First Names Martha Matilda
Post by: Sinann on Thursday 02 March 17 14:46 GMT (UK)

- the one given by the priest or person delivering the child (word-of-mouth history)

I'm named after the midwife,  she was also my godmother, as far as my mother can remember I never met the woman again.
Title: Re: First Names Martha Matilda
Post by: myluck! on Thursday 02 March 17 15:27 GMT (UK)
I met a lady in the US whose name was Irish Patricia
She was delivered by an Irish nurse on board a ship on St. Patrick's Day
Her family have no Irish connections, she has never been to Ireland and her family never met the nurse again either!
Title: Re: First Names Martha Matilda
Post by: Wexflyer on Friday 03 March 17 19:04 GMT (UK)
Not directly relevant to this inquiry, but some folks might be interested to note that the name "Murtha" is often misread/misindexed as Martha.