Middle Name

[dhalaughlin]

Would anyone care to speculate on a possible origin for the middle name of my gg grandfather Robert "John" Laughlin. Robert John is one of an unbroken lineage of at least seven Robert Laughlins in our family up to the present day. I believe he may be the first to have received the middle name John. He was born c. 1842.

I have found the Scottish naming tradition to be a very helpful (but not absolute) guide to research when applied. Indeed our seven Roberts were all first born sons named after their paternal grandfathers, with perhaps the exception of the earliest one - because we don't know if he was the eldest son or who his father was. I have a nephew today who is the most recent of these seven. He is the eldest son of my eldest brother and named after his grandfather, my father.

I have read anecdotal information on the use of middle names within Scottish traditions, but this has almost always referred to surnames used as middle names? How about the use of forenames as middle names? I have read somewhere that sometimes the child is given a middle name after the forename of the minister officiating the baptism. I think I already checked and eliminated this as a possibility in this case. I need to double check! But I do not think so.

So what are the other possibilities, by some loose historical convention, practiced in the early to mid 19th century? We do have John Laughlins in our anecdotal tree perhaps as siblings and cousins. In fact there is a chance that the referenced Robert John's g grandfather may have been John. One question I have is what happens if grandfather and g grandfather are both living at the time of birth? Would both names be adopted, i.e. grandfather and g grandfather's forenames?

I am sure there are some theories or loose conventions out there applying to early to mid 19th century. I seem to see more women with middle forenames - Mary Jane or Margaret Anne for example. I realize this is an ambiguous area, but I would appreciate any rules, theories, thoughts or speculation that may be out there. I have never seen a good discussion on this topic. Thank you in advance for any guidance!

[aghadowey]

I think you are making this all too complicated. It may be that earlier, or later, Roberts in the family did have a middle name but there aren't records which indicate this/you haven't found. Have you considered that if Robert was for his paternal grandfather then John could have been his paternal maternal grandfather (quite a common thing here to name a son, especially first one, after both grandfathers).

[dhalaughlin]

Thank you Aghadowey.

We have both versions alternating consistently, according to their baptismal records. For example, my father was Robert John, named after his grandfather Robert John. My grandfather was named Robert, after his grandfather Robert, b.c. 1811. In the church records, marriage records, Griffith's, Abercorn Estate records, memorial stones, death certificates, etc. the names remain consistent with the personages. I haven't come across a case where a middle name was omitted or added. That is, Robert is always recorded as Robert and Robert John is always recorded as Robert John. Beyond that we just don't know. Except that, according to anecdotal information for our earliest Robert John his grandfather is just Robert. You are right that this Robert might also have been a Robert John. For this Robert we have no birth/death/memorial records to guide us (only the Spinning Wheel list). But something tells me, no, and our earliest Robert John was the first in our lineage to pick up the middle name John. Hence, I am just trying to surmise the origins of that given middle name "John" and the possible mechanics from whence it came?

I did wonder about the names Robert & John being chosen from both grandparents. I think you meant paternal and maternal? However, the earliest Robert John we know of had a maternal grandfather also named Robert. Would that suggest anything?

Yes, it IS complicated and I can see I am taking us deeply down into the weeds. I was just hoping there were some unwritten occasionally applied conventions to guide me. Unraveling the elements of the naming tradition has yielded very successful rewards in my research many times in the past. It's like following cairns. However, the use of forenames as middle names has perhaps too many possibilities. Still, I hope to learn more about what the possibilities may be. Faint clues can sometimes lead us to the Promised Land.

I hope other researches are able to shed some useful light on this topic, as I believe that light may offer guidance to some few who are also searching through similar murky waters.

"Thinking is the hardest work there is. That's probably why so few choose to engage in it."

- Henry Ford