I have been adding more and more people to my family tree and I have noticed that every family has the same name for the children. So I decided to look up naming traditions. This is what I have found. Basically the first born sons were named after the father or grandfather and the first daughter was names after the mother or grandmother and the rest of the children were names after aunts and uncles.
Here is what I found of course it was from Wikipedia-like site: Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online
Here is what I found of course it was from Wikipedia-like site: Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online
Given Names
Besides the patronymic system of names, the given names were primarily names taken from the Bible like those of the Puritans and other religious groups. Among the Russian Mennonites there were certain cycles and traditions according to which the same names would be repeated in the family. The oldest son would be named after the father or grandfather, and the oldest daughter after the mother or grandmother. The succeeding children would be named after uncles and aunts. The Alexanderwohl Mennonite Church record, started in Germany during the 17th century and continued in Russia and Kansas, is an interesting source of information on this practice. During 1695-1799 (Prussia), 921 given names were checked. This list contained only 40 different names, all the others being repeated. Heading the list of male members in frequency was Peter (90), followed by Jakob (74). Among the female names, Ancke (Anna) ranked highest (107) with Marike (Maria) following (79). The names still had a Dutch ending, indicating the cultural and linguistic adherence to their background. In 1860-1875 (Russia), among the 1,328 Alexanderwohl names checked there were only 54 different given names, which indicates the unbroken tradition of repeating the same names in the family. The names had become Germanized. Peter still ranked highest (118), followed by Heinrich (116) and Jakob (98). Maria (143) was now more frequent than Anna (101), after which Helena (95) followed. After the Alexanderwohl congregation had moved to Kansas in 1874 great adjustments were made to the new environment. How rapidly they were made is indicated by the change in given names. In 1919-1925, 175 names were checked, of which 109 were different. Entirely new German and English names had been added, very few of which are repeated. A complete adjustment was made by the time World War II ended. Of the 168 names checked of the children born 1945-1953 there appear 122 different names, most of which are typically American names rather than Bible names. Hardly any are repeated more than two or three times and most of them appear only once. Most popular was Clifford. At the end of the alphabet was Zyleene.
Although no other American Mennonite church has a record of over 200 years it can safely be assumed that the changes which have taken place in given names are very much the same. The Alexanderwohl Mennonite Church has always been one of the more conservative Mennonite congregations. It can be assumed that some others have made this adjustment much more rapidly. On the other hand, such groups as the Amish, the Hutterites, and the Old Colony Mennonites still perpetuate the tradition of giving their children only the biblical names commonly in use in their circle. In South America Spanish influences are noticeable in the choice of given names, while in Russia it had already become a practice in some circles before World War I to add Russian endings to the given names. After World Wars I and II Russian names became very frequent. Another Russian practice accepted by the Mennonites of Russia was the adding of the father's given name to the bearer's given name somewhat similar to the original Dutch practice. P. M. Friesen would be called Peter Martinovitch Friesen, Martin being the given name of his father.
This is why I have so many Johns, Henry, Jacobs, Anna, Sara, Helena's, ect. I thought that I had duplicate people in my tree because they had the same name and similar birth years.
I also noticed if a child dies in infancy the next child born has the same name, might have a different middle name. I'm still not sure if they were named after an other "Aunt or Uncle" or if this is a tradition as well. - ANY thoughts/ proof would be great to know.
