Naming patterns are often important in genealogy research. It has long been a custom in families around the world to name children after fathers, mothers, grandparents, and other important relatives or even friends. With the advent of middle names in the mid-19th century in America, the potential for honoring family members through a child’s name increased dramatically. Middle names often became a vehicle for the
preservation of a mother’s maiden name or the name of a prominent ancestor in that family. Names are very useful in tracking down lineages when little or no paper trail exists.
The thing about names is that they can give you clues as to a person’s lineage, but they still need to be backed up by other sources in order to prove your guesses. With Irish names, it is somewhat different. The Irish
used a very particular naming pattern for children for about two centuries, beginning in the late 1700’s and going through the early to mid 1900’s. While not all Irish families followed the pattern, or followed it exactly, enough of them did that you can use first names with relative certainty to learn more about an Irish ancestor’s unknown lineage. You still need to back it up with some documented proof, as with anything in genealogy, but you can be much more certain of the accuracy of your
guesses when you look at the traditional Irish naming pattern and compare it to your family tree.
This is how the Irish (both in Ireland and first and second generation Irish immigrants to America) named their children for two centuries...
