[Ger-Poland-Volhynia] naming patterns

[Bronwyn Klimach]

Rose-Marie,
Naming patterns can give pointers, but are far from any kind of proof
in genealogy.
There are some well known articles on the topic:
http://www.kerchner.com/germname.htm
http://www.genealogy.com/35_donna.html

I know one 1800s generation of my German ancestors (near Prenzlau)
names every son Johann xxxx while the daughters are Johanna yyyy.
It's pretty obvious they are going to be called by another of their
Christian names (Rufname).
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~pastgc/newsletters/march98.pdf
It is also not uncommon to have 3 or 4 Christian names.  One of my
ancestors appears on various documents under any one of her four given
names, with the surname's spelling varying wildly (e.g. Johns, Toms,
Thoms).

Naming patterns might give you some clues and it is good to know about
them, but you will need to keep any eye on everyone in the correct
location whose surname resembles the one in which you are interested.
Bronwyn.

On Sat, Dec 19, 2009 at 4:10 AM, F&RM Haddad <farose at gmail.com> wrote:
> I've been hearing a lot of late about determining naming patterns, and the
> help that can be in genealogical research. Does anyone know if there were
> naming patterns generally used among the Germans - either in Poland or
> Volhynia? (And for me - Wuerttemberg, Germany). Where does one find out
> about naming patterns, (serves me right for being timid about asking when I
> attend lectures/seminars).
>
> Rose-Marie
>
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