Talk:British Naming Conventions

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This naming convention is particularly strong in the north of England, and in Scotland it is almost universal until the very late 1800's. Be as certain as you can that you have ALL of the children's names before using this to find a previous generation or it can be very misleading. Done correctly, it can be exceptionally helpful. In the mid-1800's this naming convention starts to break down, and by the early 1900's it is not in common use.

A regular exception to this naming convention - when one of the parents does not use his or her parents' names in the naming pattern for their children it usually indicates a rift in the family. An example is when a daughter has been disowned because of a pregnancy before marriage - in such a case you will find the mother's name with the first daughter or the second daughter and not the child's maternal grandparent at all, and with their sons, their father's name will appear with the second son, and the maternal grandfather not at all. This can make it difficult to use the naming pattern when looking for the previous generation.